Cemex output higher

RIGA - Construction materials producer Cemex plans to produce and sell more than one million tons of cement this year, says Cemex Commercial Director Maris Gruznins, reports Nozare.lv. He said that this will be possible because the new Cemex plant has been operating at full capacity for about a year already.
“In 2010 we sold slightly more than 900,000 tons of cement, while this year it could be over a million tons,” he said.
Gruznins added that 275 million euros had been invested in the construction of the new plant, and its annual production capacity is about 1.6 million tons of cement, depending on cement type.

Cemex exports 80 percent of its production to the other Baltic States, Finland, Russia and Belarus. In 2010, the amount of exports quadrupled, compared to the previous year.
“We sell about 20 percent of the production on the local market, which provides for 70 to 75 percent of the Latvian market consumption,” said Gruznins.
Cemex posted 37.8 million lats (54 million euros) in turnover last year, bettering the company’s 2009 result almost twofold, according to Lursoft.

In 2009, the company’s turnover was 19.8 million lats, whereas in 2008 it was 40.2 million lats.
Cemex losses last year amounted to 16.5 million lats, which is 65.6 percent higher than in 2009, when the company posted 9.9 million lats in losses. In 2008, the company’s losses totaled 3.9 million lats.
Asked about the company’s turnover and profit projections for this year, Gruznins replied that Cemex would only be able to present these financial data after they are reported to the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s losses last year were due to the launch of the new plant, and they covered all amortization costs, added Gruznins.

Cemex is a building materials producer that operates in more than 50 countries around the world. The company launched operations in Latvia in 2005.