Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos grew its revenue and earnings in 2024 but its net income dropped significantly due to interest rate volatility It noted ‘positive performance’ in its Europe and Asia region and a stable market in Brazil It attributed its mounting earnings to its balanced portfolio The group’s net revenue grew by 3% year-on-year to US$4.69bn in 2024 from US$4.53bn in 2023 revenue fell slightly in local currencies due to negative exchange effects Cement sales volumes rose by 1% to 35.4Mt from 34.9Mt depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 16% to US$1.14bn from US$0.99bn Earnings rose in all regions except for Latin America due to a ‘challenging’ market in Uruguay and lower prices in Bolivia its adjusted net income dropped by 17% to US$383m from US$461m “We ended the year with record-high operating results in line with our strategic mandate,” said Osvaldo Ayres The company invested over US$550m in 2024 towards decarbonisation A further US$880m investment plan in Brazil to 2028 was announced in early 2024 Ongoing projects include upgrades supporting higher thermal substitution rates at the Xambioá plant in Tocantins state and the Salto de Pirapora plant in São Paulo A new 1Mt/yr cement grinding unit is being built at the Salto de Pirapora site Construction of this project is scheduled for completion in the second-half of 2025 A new 1Mt/yr cement grinding unit was also announced at the Edealina plant in Goiás This project is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026 Votorantim also revealed that it paid around US$190m to the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) at the end of 2024 in connection with an agreement to end all administrative and judicial litigation It said “We definitively resolved all pending disputes with CADE having committed any unlawful act or engaged in any anticompetitive behaviour.” Damascus,SANA- A delegation from The Commission for International Justice and Accountability(CIJA), visited the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), met with a number of its staff, and gave a presentation on … Read More » Damascus, SANA- Syria and Turkey explored Monday ways of boosting agricultural cooperation between the two countries in the fields of irrigation, scientific research, expertise exchange, training and qualification of technical … Read More » Damascus, SANA-The Director of School Buildings at the Ministry of Education, Engineer Mohammed al-Hanoun, discussed with engineers from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) the preparation of studies for building … Read More » Homs, SANA- Homs Agriculture Directorate announced Monday the start of harvesting current wheat crop in Talkalakh area, from on May 10th. 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Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience Votorantim Cimentos ended 2024 with another record high in annual operating results and margin growth supported by geographic and product diversification Votorantim Cimentos' global net revenue in the year totaled R$26.6 billion excluding changes in foreign exchange rates primarily as result of the positive performance in European and Asian countries and stability in Brazil Cement sales volume in 2024 totaled 35.4 million t depreciation and amortization) was R$6.5 billion a record high for the second consecutive year and up 9% compared to 2023 The improvement in operating results can be attributed to the company’s balanced portfolio (especially in its operations in Europe and Asia) operational efficiency combined with lower variable costs in most regions in addition to gains resulting from the sale of non-strategic assets in North America and Uruguay Votorantim Cimentos’ investments (Capex) totaled R$3.2 billion This increase is in line with the global strategy of investments in decarbonisation Regarding the R$5 billion investment plan announced in early 2024 to strengthen operations in Brazil including a comprehensive program of structural growth and competitiveness through 2028 This investment plan includes a project to modernize the kiln and biomass system at the Xambioá plant (Tocantins state in Brazil) to increase the site’s co-processing rate the first phase of a modernisation project in the Salto de Pirapora plant (São Paulo state leading to a marginal increase in clinker production capacity as the site seeks to accelerate thermal substitution and reduce CO2 emissions A new cement grinding plant is also being built at the Salto de Pirapora plant which will add 1 million tpy to the site’s production capacity Construction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025 expansion projects in Brazil included the start of operations at a new site in Itaperuçu (Paraná state increasing the capacity related to new businesses such as Viter (agricultural solutions) and Verdera (waste management and co-processing) Votorantim Cimentos announced last year the expansion of the Edealina (Goiás state a R$200 million investment in the construction of a new cement grinding line that will double the plant’s production capacity The project is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026 “We ended the year with record-high operating results We continued to advance our programme of modernisation competitiveness and acceleration of new businesses as well as the implementation of our decarbonisation and sustainability strategy aligned with our 2030 public commitments,” said Osvaldo Ayres Votorantim Cimentos ended 2024 with leverage (measured by the net debt/adjusted EBITDA ratio) of 1.66x The increase resulted from changes in foreign exchange rates and the payment made to CADE at the end of December 2024 related to the agreement to close all administrative and judicial litigation involving the company and the agency partially mitigated by the improved operating results The rating agency Fitch Ratings upgraded Votorantim Cimentos’ global credit rating from “BBB-” to “BBB” Moody’s and S&P Ratings reaffirmed Votorantim Cimentos' “Baa3” and “BBB” global credit rating the company has maintained its investment grade credit rating “Votorantim Cimentos ended the year with financial strength supported by improvements in credit ratings and debt opportunities with issuances at the lowest historical spread levels We ended 2024 with a cash balance and financial investments of R$5.2 billion This amount will allow the company to meet its financial obligations for the next four years,” said Antonio Pelicano The company posted adjusted net profit of R$2.2 billion in 2024 17% lower than in the previous year due to financial expenses including the early settlement of a bond originally due in 2027 Votorantim Cimentos paid R$1.1 billion to the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE in Portuguese) in connection with an agreement to end all administrative and judicial litigation involving the company and the Brazilian antitrust agency in accordance with the rules of the “Desenrola Agências Reguladoras” program the Brazilian federal government offered individuals and companies with pending disputes with public agencies and foundations the opportunity to resolve their issues under mutually beneficial As a result of this extraordinary transaction and the agreement Votorantim Cimentos definitively resolved all pending disputes with CADE having committed any unlawful act or engaged in any anticompetitive behaviour Votorantim Cimentos continued to advance projects to expand its capacity to use alternative fuels from biomass and waste globally the company started a carbon capture pilot project at its Alconera plant This initiative is one of the industry’s first carbon capture experiments in Spain and aims to improve knowledge about carbon capture technologies representing a significant step in the decarbonisation journey Votorantim Cimentos has also extended its carbon capture experience to North America and is working on a pilot project using membrane-based capture technology at its Charlevoix plant (Canada) the baseline year for historical measurements Votorantim Cimentos has reduced its CO2 emissions by 28% Votorantim Cimentos’ 2024 net revenue was R$12.9 billion The company’s adjusted EBITDA in the country totaled R$2.6 billion higher sales volume and progress in new businesses contributed to this result which mitigated the favorable price dynamics in the period Adjusted EBITDA for the region was R$2.3 billion in 2024 as a result of operational efficiency and the sale of non-strategic local assets leading to a significant recovery in margins net revenue grew 10% in 2024 compared to 2023 The positive performance resulted from an increase in sales volume and price dynamics Adjusted EBITDA for the region was R$1.1 billion The positive operating result was due to the previously mentioned market dynamics and the reduction of variable costs Votorantim Cimentos also concluded an important cycle of capturing synergies from the assets acquired in recent years in Southern Spain Votorantim Cimentos signed agreements for the sale of its assets located in Tunisia and Morocco The conclusion of these transactions is subject to the fulfillment of conditions precedent including approval by regulatory authorities Reflecting the reclassification of Tunisia and Morocco as discontinued operations the consolidated information does not consider the results of these two countries as a result of challenging market dynamics in both Uruguay and Bolivia The region ended 2024 with R$158 million in adjusted EBITDA excluding the effects of changes in foreign exchange rates The result was impacted by market conditions and higher variable costs which were partially mitigated by the sale of a non-strategic asset in Uruguay Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/20032025/votorantim-cimentos-announces-2024-financial-results/ In the latest episode of the World Cement Podcast Senior Editor David Bizley is joined by Dr Andrew Minson of the GCCA to discuss the ins and outs of the recently launched Low Carbon Ratings (LCR) system Listen for free today » Backed by Clean Energy Ventures and Buzzi Unicem USA Queens Carbon will leverage funding to scale its energy-efficient cement production platform Embed article link: (copy the HTML code below): This article has been tagged under the following: Already a member? Sign in here Listen to the latest episode of the World Cement Podcast Listen now! Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos plans to invest US$1bn in expanding its Brazilian operations in the period up to the end of 2028 US$304m-worth of the investments are already underway at the start of 2024 Reuters has reported that the investments include cement plant projects to raise Votorantim Cimentos’ Brazilian cement production capacity by 8.8% to 37Mt/yr These include a US$162m investment in a 20% capacity expansion to its Votorantim cement plant and a US$60.8m 1Mt/yr expansion to its Salto de Pirapora plant Further aims are to ensure structural competitiveness raise energy efficiency and digitise operations including applying artificial intelligence (AI) to freight The producer expects its earnings before interest and amortization (EBITDA) to eventually rise by US$263/yr between 2023 and 2028 as a result