UPDATE 1-Mexico's Cemex posts slight fall in second-quarter profit
UPDATE 1-Mexico's Cemex posts slight fall in second-quarter profit
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July 28 (Reuters) - Mexican cement producer Cemex SAB de CV CEMEXCPO.MX on Thursday posted a 2% fall in second-quarter profit, which it attributed partly to higher income tax.
The company, however, was able to offset inflationary pressure with higher prices posting a 6.8% rise in quarterly revenue.
Latin America's construction sector, heavily serviced by Cemex, saw demand drop in the first half of the year as inflationary pressures caused prices to skyrocket.
Monterrey-based Cemex said in April it was raising prices to maintain its margins. It said energy costs could be a key driver for price increases as it expected them to go up by 35% during the year.
"I am pleased that our pricing strategy is yielding results and has fully offset inflationary costs in the quarter," Chief Executive Officer Fernando González said in a statement on Thursday.
The company, one of the largest concrete suppliers worldwide, reported a profit of $265.3 million during the reported quarter, from $269.9 million, a year earlier.
The company's quarterly revenue came in at $4.08 billion, compared with $3.82 billion a year earlier.
(Reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)