Grupo UNACEM reports 13.9% increase in revenues in the first quarter driven by recent acquisitions

• Pedro Lerner, CEO of the Peruvian industrial group, stated that they continue to strengthen their management in southwestern North America and mentioned that operations in the U.S. will represent 20% of their revenues.

Grupo Unacem announced that its consolidated revenues totaled S/1,605 million in the first quarter of the year. This 13.9% increase over the same period last year is mainly due to the incorporation of the power generation company Termochilca and the cement company Tehachapi to its portfolio, in addition to the good performance of all the Group’s business units.

In this regard, Pedro Lerner, CEO of Grupo Unacem, pointed out that they continue to strengthen their management in the Southwest of North America. In fact, he highlighted that the US operations will represent 20% of its revenues and, “with the incorporation of Tehachapi, they now represent more than 15% of our total installed cement capacity”.

“We have completed the first stage of the integration process with our California operations as scheduled and launched the rebranding under the UNACEM North America name last month as planned,” said Lerner.

Consolidated CAPEX and the execution of investment projects, aligned with the sustainability strategy, reached S/95 million at the end of March 2024. The main investments are related to the dust removal system for kiln 3 and the roofing of the clinker fields in Atocongo and Condorcocha at Unacem Peru. It also includes the incorporation of new machinery, concrete equipment and improvements in the raw mill at Drake; mixer trucks, vans and front loaders at Unicon Peru; and the refurbishment of the Talca Plant in Chile, among others.

The Peruvian company also reported that consolidated EBITDA for the quarter was S/419 million, 7.2% higher than the EBITDA of S/391 million recorded in the first quarter of 2023. The EBITDA margin in the first quarter of 2024 was 26.1%, slightly lower than in the same period of 2023 (27.7%), mainly due to higher cost of sales in the cement units, given the lower production in Peru and Ecuador that generated a loss of economies of scale. These, and other administrative expenses due to the integration of Tehachapi and Termochilca, as well as higher advisory, consulting and donations, were partially offset by the sale of four land blocks in the US.

“Our consolidated revenues for the first quarter of 2024 were driven mainly by the acquisitions of Termochilca and Tehachapi, as well as higher sales in our ready-mix concrete and energy operations. This, together with higher average prices in the Peruvian cement business, resulted in a year-over-year increase of 13.9%,” said Alvaro Morales, Grupo Unacem’s Corporate Vice President of Finance.

In Peru, the company highlighted Unicon’s total revenues, which totaled S/341 million (22.6% higher than in the first quarter of 2023) and an EBITDA of S/35.2 million (116.2% higher than in the same period of 2023). This increase is due to the higher volume of large infrastructure works.

Similarly, Celepsa achieved revenues of US$31.9 million, 22.3% more than in the first quarter of 2023, and an EBITDA of US$15.7 million, 17.8% more than in the same period of last year.

As for Unacem Ecuador,the current political situation continues to affect business performance in that country. Compared to the first half of 2023, ready-mix concrete operations were 8.1% lower, as was cement dispatch with 6.2% less, the company reported.

Meanwhile, the Group reported that in Unacem North America, higher volumes from the integration of Tehachapi and higher average prices resulted in revenues of US$86.8 million (45% higher than in the first quarter of 2023) and EBITDA of US$15 million in the quarter, 100.3% higher than in the same quarter of last year.

In April, the cement operations of its Drake Cement and Tehachapi Cement plants were integrated under the Unacem North America brand, as part of its consolidation in the US market.

Finally, Unacem Chile reached 11,668 million Chilean pesos in cement shipments, 5.8% more than in the first quarter of 2023. Unicon Chile, on the other hand, had revenues of 16,203 million Chilean pesos (6% higher than in the first quarter of last year). The Unacem Group also reported the acquisition of 50% of the shares of Prefabricados Andinos S.A. – Preansa Chile, which means that as of the first quarter of 2024 it will control 100% of the company.