UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
_______________________
FORM
6-K
REPORT
OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 or 15d-16
UNDER
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
_______________________
Date
of Report: December 16, 2008
CEMEX, S.A.B. de
C.V.
(Exact
name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
CEMEX
Corp.
(Translation
of Registrant's name into English)
United Mexican
States
(Jurisdiction
of incorporation or organization)
Av.
Ricardo Margáin Zozaya #325, Colonia Valle del Campestre
Garza García, Nuevo León, México
66265
(Address
of principal executive offices)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under
cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
|
Form
20-F
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X
|
Form
40-F
|
____
|
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in
this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant
to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
|
Yes
|
____
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No
|
X
|
If
"Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in
connection with Rule 12g3-2(b):
N/A
|
Media
Relations
Jorge
Pérez
(52-81)
8888-4334
|
Investor
Relations
Eduardo
Rendón
(52-81)
8888-4256
|
Analyst
Relations
Luis
Garza
(52-81)
8888-4136
|
CEMEX PROVIDES GUIDANCE
FOR
THE FOURTH QUARTER OF
2008
MONTERREY,
MEXICO,
December 15, 2008 - CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: CX)
announced today that it expects EBITDA for the quarter ending December 31, 2008
to be close to US$800 million, a like-to-like decrease of 14% versus the same
period last year. On a
reported basis, the decrease is expected to be about 27%, as it includes 10
percentage points due to foreign-exchange conversion effects and 3 percentage
points due to sale of assets and the nationalization of our assets in Venezuela.
Operating income on a
reported basis is expected
to be about US$410 million, 30% lower than the same period a year ago. CEMEX
expects sales for the fourth quarter to be about US$4.45 billion, a decline on a
like-to-like basis of 10% versus the comparable period last year. On a reported
basis the decline is expected to be 23% lower as it includes 10 percentage
points due to foreign-exchange conversion effects and 3 percentage points due to
the change in asset base as described above.
Rodrigo Treviño, CEMEX’s Chief Financial
Officer, said: “During this fourth quarter, our results reflect the overall
tightening in the global credit markets. Our volumes have been affected by
decreased consumer confidence and lower activity across all sectors in most of
our markets. In addition, foreign-exchange fluctuations have also had a negative
impact on our results.”
We have made progress in our global
effort to achieve greater financial flexibility. We have obtained the necessary
consent of the relevant bank lenders to amend, among other conditions,
the leverage ratio covenant in our existing
syndicated loan facilities. Such approval will allow us the necessary financial
flexibility for the closing of the current financial year and for the completion
of the remaining parts of our refinancing plan. The consent requires us to
complete the refinancing of our bilateral facilities as well as the extension of
the amounts under the syndicated loan facility maturing in December 2009, by
January 31, 2009. The implementation of the amendments is subject to final
documentation and satisfaction of customary closing conditions. We continue to
proceed
satisfactorily with the remaining
elements of our refinancing plan.
We have already implemented the
initiatives to achieve our recently announced cost reduction program for
US$500 million. We expect the results from these
initiatives to be fully realized next year.
Our commitment in the immediate future is
to maximize free cash flow from operations, reduce capital expenditures, and use asset-disposal proceeds to
reduce debt.
For the fourth quarter, CEMEX’s domestic
cement and ready-mix sales volumes in Mexico are expected to decrease by
about 2% and 1%,
respectively, versus the same quarter a year ago. For the full year, cement and
ready-mix volumes are expected to decrease by about 3% and 6%, respectively,
versus the same period of last year. Infrastructure projects will partially
compensate for lower activity in other sectors in 2009.
In CEMEX’s operations in the United
States, cement, ready-mix, and aggregates volumes are expected to decrease about
25%, 39%, and 43%, respectively, during the
fourth quarter, versus the same period last year. For the full year 2008, cement
volumes are expected to decrease by about 14%, ready-mix volumes are expected to
decrease by about 13%, and aggregates volumes are expected to
decrease by about 3% versus the same period in 2007.
On a like-to-like basis for the ongoing
operations ready-mix
volumes are expected to decrease by about 35%, and aggregates volumes are expected to
decrease by about 36% for the quarter versus the comparable period last year.
For the full year 2008, also on a like-to-like basis for the ongoing operations,
cement volumes are expected to decrease by about 21%, ready-mix volumes are
expected to decrease by about 30%, and aggregates volumes are expected to
decrease by about 30% versus the comparable period last year. Like-to-like basis comparisons include
the effects of: the consolidation of Rinker starting July 1, 2007; the sale of some U.S. assets as required
by the U.S. Department of Justice related to the Rinker acquisition;
as well as the sale of certain U.S. assets to our
joint venture with Ready Mix USA.
Volumes continue to be affected by
significantly weaker than expected demand in most of our geographies and market segments.
Overall construction activity weakened further as economic conditions continue
to worsen and credit availability tightens. The residential sector continues its
downward trend and visibility continues to be limited. In addition, even though
nominal spending in the industrial-and-commercial sector is up from prior year
levels, contract awards continue to fall as a result of the recessionary
economic conditions and tight credit availability. Finally, we continue to see
increases in construction put in place in nominal terms for the public
sector—including streets-and-highways and other public construction, but
these increases have been
reduced, and in some
instances fully offset by input-cost
inflation.
Momentum is building for a major fiscal
stimulus package to create
new jobs in the US Economy
which would include substantial funding for public works
construction.
President-elect Barack
Obama recently stated that
he is working with Congressional leaders on an economic recovery program that
would include the largest public works funding program since the creation of the interstate highway system over 50 years
ago. We are cautiously optimistic about these developments, especially in view of the fact that
public works construction, particularly for highways and bridges, is
substantially more cement and aggregate intensive than other types of construction activity.
Cement and ready-mix volumes for CEMEX’s
operations in Spain, are expected to decline by about 49% and 48% respectively, during the fourth quarter versus the comparable period of
last year. For the full
year 2008, cement volumes
are expected to decrease by about 30%, while ready-mix volumes are expected to
decrease by about 27% versus the same period in 2007.
The continuing decline in
the residential sector affected volumes during the quarter. Projects from the
infrastructure sector continue on stand-by, mainly as a result of the
challenging economic environment faced in the last months.
Recently, the creation of an €8 billion
public fund was announced by the central government in Spain to be devoted
exclusively to public works and infrastructure. The fund will be managed by
Ministry of Public Works and will combine coordinated investments by local and
autonomic governments. All the money coming from this fund should be used to
develop additional projects and not to refinance debt or pay for projects
already included in 2009 government budgets. This plan aims to generate between
200,000 and 300,000 new jobs during 2009. This news is
positive and we remain cautions as it is still uncertain where and what type of
projects will be proposed, and what the impact on cement consumption could
be.
We continue to see supply-demand
resilience in the United States and Spanish markets.
Guidance and historic numbers are
calculated on the basis of
the average of monthly exchange rates through November 2008 and market close
exchange rates as of December 12, 2008 for subsequent guidance periods.
Given the volatility of
foreign exchange rates and the exposure of our operations to factors beyond our
control, our actual results could be materially different from our indicative
guidance.
CEMEX is a growing global building
materials company that provides high quality
products and reliable service to customers and communities in more than 50
countries throughout the world. CEMEX has a rich history of improving the
well-being of those it serves through its efforts to pursue innovative industry
solutions
and efficiency advancements and to
promote a sustainable future. For more information, visit
www.cemex.com.
###
This
press release contains forward-looking statements and information that are
necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could
cause the actual results, performance or achievements of CEMEX to be materially
different from those expressed or implied in this release, including, among
others, changes in general economic, political, governmental and business
conditions globally and in the countries in which CEMEX does business, changes
in interest rates, changes in inflation rates, changes in exchange rates, the
level of construction generally, changes in cement demand and prices, changes in
raw material and energy prices, weather conditions, changes in business strategy
and various other factors. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties
materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results
may vary materially from those described herein. CEMEX assumes no obligation to
update or correct the information contained in this press release.
EBITDA
is defined as operating income plus depreciation and amortization. Free Cash
Flow is defined as EBITDA minus net interest expense, maintenance capital
expenditures, change in working capital, taxes paid, and other cash items (net
other expenses less proceeds from the disposal of obsolete and/or substantially
depleted operating fixed assets that are no longer in operation). Net debt is
defined as total debt minus the fair value of cross-currency swaps associated
with debt minus cash and cash equivalents. The net debt to EBITDA ratio is
calculated by dividing net debt at the end of the quarter by EBITDA for the last
twelve months. All of the above items are derived from generally accepted
accounting principles in Mexico. EBITDA and Free Cash Flow (as defined above)
are presented herein because CEMEX believes that they are widely accepted as
financial indicators of CEMEX's ability to internally fund capital expenditures
and service or incur debt. EBITDA and Free Cash Flow should not be considered as
indicators of CEMEX's financial performance, as alternatives to cash flow, as
measures of liquidity or as being comparable to other similarly titled measures
of other companies.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, CEMEX, S.A.B. de
C.V. has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized.
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CEMEX, S.A.B.
de C.V.
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(Registrant)
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Date:
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December 16,
2008
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By:
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/s/ Rafael
Garza
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Name: Rafael
Garza
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Title:
Chief Comptroller
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