CSN Cement Plans for Public Offering and Expansion
CSN’s President, Benjamin Steinbruch, announces plans for a public offering of CSN Cement and discusses the company’s strategies for growth and de-leveraging.
In a recent investor teleconference, Benjamin Steinbruch, President of Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN), expressed the company’s longstanding desire to initiate a public offering for CSN Cement as soon as market conditions become favorable. The initiative aims to make CSN’s various divisions, including cement, energy, and logistics, independent entities with their own listings, allowing them to grow autonomously.
Steinbruch highlighted the potential public offering as a step towards the company’s de-leveraging process, aiming to reduce the leverage ratio from 2.63 in the third quarter to 2.58 in the fourth, with a target of reaching 2 by 2024. This follows the successful integration of Lafarge Holcim’s factories, acquired by CSN in 2022.
Marcelo Ribeiro, CSN’s CFO, noted a 7% production increase in the fourth quarter compared to the previous year, despite a sector-wide decline. The company also seeks to improve the cement division’s margin from the current 24.1% to around 30%, the level before Lafarge’s integration.
For the energy division, CSN is on the lookout for a strategic partner to enhance the business. In contrast, for CSN Mining, a supplementary share issue is not a priority, but the company is open to partners that can expedite investment returns.
Source: Valor Econômico
