Colombian Cementos Argos' Net Profit Jumps 83% in 2023

Cementos Argos, a leading Colombian cement company, reported an 83% increase in net profit for the year 2023, reaching 393.061 billion Colombian pesos (approximately 74 million USD), up from 214.814 billion pesos in the previous year. The company attributed this significant growth to a constructive pricing dynamic, cost efficiencies, and productivity improvements.

The company's EBITDA for the past year was 2.68 trillion pesos (about 620 million USD), marking a 29.8% increase compared to 2022, as reported to the Financial Superintendence on Tuesday night. Operational revenues also saw a rise, totaling 12.7 trillion pesos (around 2.937 billion USD) in 2023, an 8.8% increase from the year before.

In a strategic move to expand its footprint, Cementos Argos completed the merger of its operations in the United States with Summit Materials in mid-January. This merger created a national-scale construction materials platform in the world's largest economy. As part of the transaction, Cementos Argos received 1.200 billion USD in cash and approximately 54.7 million shares of Summit Materials.

However, the fourth quarter saw Cementos Argos reporting a loss of 54.812 billion pesos (14 million USD), which is 175% below the profit recorded between October and December of 2022.

Cementos Argos employs nearly 7,000 people and operates in 16 countries. Its assets include 11 cement plants, 197 concrete plants, 7 aggregate plants, 9 clinker grinding facilities, 29 ports and terminals, nearly 1,700 mixer trucks, more than 1,500 train wagons, and 4 ships. The company's total installed capacity is 24 million tons of cement annually.

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