The logo of Mexican cement maker CEMEX is pictured at it’s plant in Monterrey, Mexico June 8, 2021. Picture taken June 8, 2021. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
MEXICO CITY, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Mexican cement maker Cemex is in talks to refinance its $3 billion credit facility with banks, the company confirmed to Reuters on Thursday.
Bloomberg first reported the news, citing interviews with company executives.
“We’re in current discussions with our banks, because the biggest amount of debt that is maturing is bank debt,” Chief Financial Officer Maher Al-Haffar was quoted as saying.
A “100%” extension to its revolving $3 billion bank debt line is on the cards and is “likely to transform our maturity structure quite nicely,” he added.
Executives have previously mentioned the possibility of refinancing debt.
In Cemex’s July earnings call, CEO Fernando Gonzalez said a refinancing could be in the cards after rating agency Fitch upgraded its outlook on the company to positive.
“In terms of refinancing, yes, … although we’re quite comfortable with our maturity profile … this upgrade and the feedback we’re getting from the capital markets should give us the opportunity before the end of the year to do some liability management.”
He did not give a detailed timeline or say what the new terms would be, but suggested it could improve the cost of borrowing.
Last year, ratings agency S&P estimated that in 2023 and 2024, Cemex would face “debt maturities of less than $500 million,” noting that the amount was “highly manageable.”
Gonzalez said a strong peso had been “very convenient” in the short term, Bloomberg reported.
Cemex held around three-fours of its debt at the end of the second quarter in U.S. dollars, which have depreciated around 12% against the peso this year.
Al-Haffar said Cemex is also considering issuing local currency bonds to take advantage of the strong exchange rate, the report added, noting that this would be its first debt sale in pesos since 2011.
Cemex has gradually begun to sell off assets in emerging markets like Costa Rica and El Salvador to “invest mainly in the US and Europe,” Gonzalez was quoted as saying.
Reporting by Mexico City Newsroom; Additional reporting by Kylie Madry; Writing by Isabel Woodford; Editing by Richard Chang
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