The company says that adjusting for the fewer business days during the quarter and, in the case of operating EBITDA, for the extraordinary favourable effect in 2012 resulting from the change of a pension plan in our Northern Europe region, net sales declined by 2% and operating EBITDA increased by 9% during the first quarter of 2013.
Cemex says the decrease in consolidated net sales was due to fewer business days and lower volumes in the Northern Europe, Mexico, Mediterranean, and South, Central America and the Caribbean operations partially offset by higher prices, in local currency terms, in most of our regions.
Operating earnings before other expenses, net, in the first quarter remained flat at $239 million although operating EBITDA for the quarter, on a like-to-like basis adjusting for the effect of the change in the pension plan, and the fewer business days during the quarter, increased by 9%.
Operating EBITDA margin, adjusting for the effect of the change in pension plan and the fewer business days during the quarter, increased by 1.6 percentage points on a year-over-year basis.
Controlling interest net income during the quarter was a loss of $281 million, versus a loss of.$30 million in 2012. The year-over-year difference is mainly due to non-cash foreign exchange fluctuations.
Free cash flow after maintenance capital expenditures for the quarter was negative $483 million, compared with negative $287 million reduction in the same quarter of 2012.
Fernando A. González, executive vice president of finance and administration, said: “We are pleased with the operating EBITDA growth and operating EBITDA margin expansion during the quarter on a comparable basis. This is the seventh consecutive quarter with year-over-year improvement in operating EBITDA.
We are also seeing good results from the initial stages of our value-before-volume strategy as evidenced by the sequential increase in our consolidated prices for cement ready-mix and aggregates, in both, local-currency and US dollar terms.”
