Cemex SAB de CV (CX) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. Welcome to the Cemex third quarter 2024 conference call and webcast. My name is Adam, and I will be your operator for today. (Operator Instructions)

早安.歡迎參加 Cemex 2024 年第三季電話會議和網路廣播。我叫 Adam，今天我將擔任您的接線生。（操作員說明）

And now I will turn the conference over to Lucy Rodriguez, Chief Communications Officer. Please proceed.

現在我將把會議交給首席通訊官露西·羅德里格斯 (Lucy Rodriguez)。請繼續。

Good morning. Thank you for joining us today for our third quarter 2024 conference call and webcast. We hope this call finds you in good health. I am joined today by Fernando Gonzalez, our CEO; and Maher Al-Haffar, our CFO. As always, we will spend a few minutes reviewing the business, and then we will be happy to take your questions.

早安.感謝您今天參加我們的 2024 年第三季電話會議和網路廣播。我們希望您在這次通話中身體健康。今天我們的執行長費爾南多·岡薩雷斯 (Fernando Gonzalez) 也加入了我的行列。以及我們的財務長 Maher Al-Haffar。像往常一樣，我們將花幾分鐘時間審查業務，然後我們將很樂意回答您的問題。

I would like to remind you that during third quarter, we announced the sale of our Dominican Republic and Guatemala operations as well as the remaining minority stake in [Neuris]. This is in addition to the anticipated sale of our Philippines operations, which we announced in April. All of these operations have been reclassified as discontinued operations and are now excluded from our 2024 and 2023 operating results. We are expecting to close these transactions by year-end, except for Guatemala, which has already closed in September.

我想提醒您，在第三季度，我們宣佈出售多明尼加共和國和危地馬拉業務以及剩餘的少數股權[神經]。這是我們四月宣布的預期出售菲律賓業務的補充。所有這些業務已重新歸類為已終止業務，現已排除在我們 2024 年和 2023 年的經營業績之外。我們預計在年底前完成這些交易，危地馬拉除外，該交易已於 9 月完成。

And now I will hand it over to Fernando.

現在我將把它交給費爾南多。

Thanks, Lucy, and good day to everyone. I'm pleased with the significant progress we have made this year with our portfolio optimization efforts. We advanced materially on our goal of trench lining our portfolio towards developed markets with the announcement of $1.4 billion in asset sales in the quarter, bringing year-to-date announced divestitures of noncore assets to $2.2 billion.

謝謝露西，祝大家有美好的一天。我對今年我們在投資組合優化方面取得的重大進展感到高興。我們在本季宣佈出售 14 億美元的資產，使年初至今宣布的非核心資產剝離達到 22 億美元，從而在向已開發市場拓展投資組合的目標上取得了重大進展。

With the closing of these transactions, approximately 90% of our EBITDA will be generated in the US, Europe and Mexico. The proceeds from the divestments are expected to be recycled into our growth strategy launched in 2019 and primarily focused on the US. Our growth strategy continues to pay off in the quarter by contributing 13% of EBITDA. And we are excited by the new accretive growth opportunities we are finding.

隨著這些交易的完成，我們約 90% 的 EBITDA 將來自美國、歐洲和墨西哥。撤資所得收益預計將回收到我們 2019 年啟動的成長策略中，該策略主要集中在美國。我們的成長策略在本季持續取得成效，貢獻了 13% 的 EBITDA。我們對我們發現的新的成長機會感到興奮。

During the quarter, we formed a joint venture in the US to strengthen and expand our aggregate reserves in the Southeast. And additionally, we acquired a majority stake in a construction, demolition, and excavation business in Germany to produce recycled aggregates. Our quarterly results were significantly impacted by temporary factors such as extraordinary weather conditions in all of our regions as well as transportation strike in SCAC.

本季度，我們在美國成立了一家合資企業，以加強和擴大我們在東南部的總儲備。此外，我們也收購了德國一家生產再生骨材的建築、拆除和挖掘業務的多數股權。我們的季度業績受到臨時因素的顯著影響，例如所有地區的異常天氣條件以及 SCAC 的運輸罷工。

In the US alone, we faced three major hurricanes in the quarter versus one the prior year. Additionally, results have a difficult comparison base where EBITDA last year grew more than 30% and EBITDA margin expanded by 3.5 percentage points. Our pricing strategy continued to show resiliency as prices for our products rose low single digits. Net income show exceptional strength growing over 200% year-over-year.

光是在美國，本季我們就遭遇了三場重大颶風，而前一年只有一場。此外，結果的比較基礎很困難，去年的 EBITDA 成長了 30% 以上，EBITDA 利潤率擴大了 3.5 個百分點。隨著我們產品的價格上漲到低個位數，我們的定價策略繼續表現出彈性。淨利潤表現出非凡的實力，年成長超過 200%。

In climate action, we continue delivering against our Future in Action road map, reducing our year-to-date Scope 1 and 2, CO2 emissions by 3% and 4%, respectively. And while we are working hard to decarbonize using existing technologies, we are also developing breakthrough decarbonization solutions, such as the Cemex led consortium carbon capture project at our Rüdersdorf cement plant in Germany. This is Cemex's largest CCUS projects to date, and I'm happy to share that the EU innovation fund recently selected this project to receive in funding.

在氣候行動方面，我們繼續按照「未來行動」路線圖實現目標，將年初至今的範圍 1 和範圍 2 的二氧化碳排放量分別減少 3% 和 4%。在我們努力利用現有技術脫碳的同時，我們也在開發突破性的脫碳解決方案，例如我們位於德國呂德斯多夫水泥廠的 Cemex 牽頭的財團碳捕獲專案。這是 Cemex 迄今為止最大的 CCUS 項目，我很高興地告訴大家，歐盟創新基金最近選擇了該項目接受資助​​。

During the quarter, Cemex through the activities of Regenera, our global waste management business, was honored by the inclusion in Fortune's 2024 Change the World list. Fortune highlighted our very [mild] initiative cleaning the Nile River. This landmark project exemplifies how companies can collaborate with NGOs and society to change the world for the better.

本季度，Cemex 透過我們的全球廢棄物管理業務 Regenera 的活動，榮幸地被列入《財富》2024 年「改變世界」名單。《財星》雜誌強調了我們非常[溫和]的尼羅河清潔措施。這個具有里程碑意義的計畫體現了企業如何與非政府組織和社會合作，讓世界變得更美好。

Our financial results were impacted by extraordinary weather events in all of our main markets as well as a significant depreciation in the Mexican peso. We estimate a consolidated weather impact of approximately $33 million in EBITDA, a little less than half of the like-to-like EBITDA shortfall in the quarter. Hurricanes and precipitation impacted our US, Mexico, and SCAC businesses, while Europe was affected by significant flooding events in the East.

我們的財務表現受到所有主要市場的異常天氣事件以及墨西哥比索大幅貶值的影響。我們估計綜合天氣對 EBITDA 的影響約為 3,300 萬美元，略低於本季 EBITDA 缺口的一半。颶風和降水影響了我們的美國、墨西哥和 SCAC 業務，而歐洲則受到東部重大洪水事件的影響。

Free cash flow after maintenance CapEx declined primarily due to a one-off $306 million tax payment related to the 2023 Spanish tax penalty. Maher will elaborate more on this. Adjusting for this extraordinary tax payment, free cash flow after maintenance CapEx would have been slightly lower than the prior year.

維護資本支出後的自由現金流下降，主要是由於與 2023 年西班牙稅罰款相關的一次性 3.06 億美元稅款所致。馬赫將對此進行更多闡述。調整這筆額外的稅金後，維護資本支出後的自由現金流將略低於前一年。

Consolidated volumes declined between low to mid-single digits. The US experienced three major hurricanes and significantly higher precipitation of flooding, impacting construction in several of our major markets. In Mexico, as we anticipated, we experienced a slowdown of construction activity post elections, particularly in the informal residential and infrastructure segments.

綜合銷量在低個位數到中個位數之間下降。美國經歷了三場重大颶風，洪水降水量顯著增加，影響了我們幾個主要市場的建設。在墨西哥，正如我們預期的那樣，選舉後建築活動放緩，特別是在非正式住宅和基礎設施領域。

With the hurricane Beryl impact in Jamaica, a transportation strike in Colombia, and overall softness in cement consumption in Panama and Colombia, SCAC volumes declined in the quarter. In Europe, cement volumes increased after nine quarters of consecutive declines.

由於牙買加遭受貝裡爾颶風影響、哥倫比亞運輸罷工以及巴拿馬和哥倫比亞水泥消費整體疲軟，本季 SCAC 銷量有所下降。在歐洲，水泥產量在連續九個季度下降後出現成長。

Consolidated prices rose low single digit, while sequential prices were largely stable with minor price valuations explained by product and geographic mix. Importantly, price gains more than covered variable costs but were not sufficient to cover fixed costs due to the decline in volumes. With prices and the contribution from growth investments offsetting costs in the quarter, the decline in EBITDA was largely attributable to volumes. Weather impact accounted for a little less than half of the like-to-like EBITDA shortfall.

綜合價格漲幅較低，個位數，而季價基本穩定，產品和地理組合導致價格估值較小。重要的是，價格漲幅超過了可變成本，但由於銷量下降而不足以覆蓋固定成本。由於價格和成長投資的貢獻抵消了本季的成本，EBITDA 的下降主要歸因於銷售量。天氣影響佔 EBITDA 同比缺口的一半不到。

While fixed costs increased due to higher maintenance and labor we continue to experience energy tailwinds. Growth investments remain an important contributor, now accounting for 13% of total EBITDA. FX was a headwind to EBITDA primarily due to the devaluation of the Mexican peso.

雖然固定成本因維護和勞動力增加而增加，但我們繼續經歷能源順風。成長型投資仍是重要的貢獻者，目前佔 EBITDA 總額的 13%。外匯對 EBITDA 構成不利影響，主要是因為墨西哥比索貶值。

Our dynamic hedging strategy that we have followed since 2017 was designed specifically for these situations and work as we expected, booking again below the EBITDA line, protecting our leverage ratio, and giving the company time to adjust to a new FX level. Maher will explain in more detail.

我們自2017 年以來一直遵循的動態對沖策略是專門針對這些情況而設計的，並且按我們的預期發揮作用，再次低於EBITDA 線，保護我們的槓桿率，並給公司時間來調整到新的外匯水平。馬赫將更詳細地解釋。

Despite lower volumes, EBITDA margin for our urbanization solutions business rose 1.6 percentage points, reflecting our favorable pricing cost dynamics. Admixtures and motors continue to contribute strongly to EBITDA, with growth across all regions. Circularity, our fastest-growing business also saw important growth in the construction, demolition, and excavation materials business in the US and Europe.

儘管銷售量下降，但我們城市化解決方案業務的 EBITDA 利潤率增加了 1.6 個百分點，反映出我們有利的定價成本動態。外加劑和引擎繼續為 EBITDA 做出巨大貢獻，所有地區均實現成長。我們成長最快的業務循環性在美國和歐洲的建築、拆除和挖掘材料業務也取得了重要成長。

The flat EBITDA variation was due primarily to Mexico, where some of the large government-related pavement projects of the prior administration come to an end. During the quarter, we announced the acquisition of a majority stake in a recycling company in Berlin that processes 400,000 tonnes of construction, demolition, and excavation materials which can be repurposed into aggregates for recycled concrete.

EBITDA 持平主要是由於墨西哥，上屆政府的一些大型政府相關路面計畫在該國結束。本季度，我們宣布收購柏林一家回收公司的多數股權，該公司處理 40 萬噸建築、拆除和挖掘材料，這些材料可重新用於再生混凝土骨材。

Beyond its recycling capabilities, this facility operates the first plan to permanently store biogenic CO2 in recycled mineral waste in Germany. This investment will integrate with our Regenera business as we continue to scale the repurposing of construction, demolition, and excavation materials and advanced our Circularity focus. We remain optimistic about the outlook for this business and its contribution to our overall results.

除了回收能力之外，該設施還實施了德國第一個將生物二氧化碳永久儲存在回收礦物廢物中的計劃。隨著我們繼續擴大建築、拆除和挖掘材料的再利用規模並推進我們的循環重點，這項投資將與我們的 Regenera 業務整合。我們對這項業務的前景及其對我們整體業績的貢獻保持樂觀。

On climate action, through our Reduce Before Capture strategy, we continue to make steady progress in decarbonization with a 3% decline in Scope 1 emissions year-to-date, driven by a 0.9 percentage point reduction in clinker factor. Since the launch of our Future in Action program in 2020, we have materially accelerated the pace of our decarbonization in a profitable way, reducing Scope 1 emissions by 15%, a reduction that previously would have taken us more than 15 years to achieve. And we continue to make strides on Scope 2 to emissions with a 15% reduction since 2020.

在氣候行動方面，透過我們的「先減少後捕獲」策略，我們在脫碳方面繼續取得穩步進展，在熟料係數降低 0.9 個百分點的推動下，今年迄今為止範圍 1 排放量下降了 3%。自2020 年啟動「未來在行動」計畫以來，我們以有利可圖的方式大幅加快了脫碳步伐，將範圍1 排放量減少了15%，此前我們需要15 年多的時間才能實現這一減排目標。自 2020 年以來，我們在範圍 2 的排放量方面繼續取得進展，減少了 15%。

Additionally, we are working hard to innovate around carbon capture and other technologies to drive decarbonization from 2030 and beyond. One of those projects is included of Germany, where we have Cemex largest CCUS project to date.

此外，我們正在努力圍繞碳捕獲和其他技術進行創新，以推動 2030 年及以後的脫碳。其中一個項目位於德國，我們在那裡擁有 Cemex 迄今為止最大的 CCUS 項目。

I'm pleased to announce that our Cemex led consumption was elected to receive EUR157 million of EU innovation funding for carbon capture at Rüdersdorf. We will work with Linde, a leading global industrial gases and engineering company to capture 1.3 million metric tonnes of CO2 per year. This is a milestone project which aims to convert Rüdersdorf into the first net zero CO2 plant within the Cemex system.

我很高興地宣布，我們的 Cemex 主導的消費計畫獲得了歐盟 1.57 億歐元的創新資金，用於呂德斯多夫的碳捕獲。我們將與全球領先的工業氣體和工程公司林德合作，每年捕獲 130 萬噸二氧化碳。這是一個里程碑式的項目，旨在將 Rüdersdorf 轉變為 Cemex 系統內第一家淨零二氧化碳工廠。

We are very pleased with the rapid adoption of our lower carbon family of products, Vertua, which was introduced in 2018. Today, more than 60% of our total cement volumes have Vertua attributes, while ready-mix has a rate of 55% acceptance. This is an improvement of 8 percentage points versus the prior year. To qualify as a Vertua cement or concrete, the material must have a minimum 25% reduction in CO2, versus a traditional cement or concrete.

我們對 2018 年推出的低碳產品 Vertua 系列迅速採用感到非常高興。如今，我們水泥總量中超過 60% 具有 Vertua 屬性，而預拌水泥的接受率為 55%。這比去年提高了 8 個百分點。要獲得 Vertua 水泥或混凝土的資格，與傳統水泥或混凝土相比，該材料的二氧化碳排放量必須減少至少 25%。

On average, the Vertua cement and ready mix that we are selling today has a 45% to 49% reduction of CO2 compared to a traditional product, which is quite significant. From the renovation of the Grand Palais in Paris ahead of the Olympics, to the longest tunnel in Latin America, to a 28-acre mixed-use facility in San Francisco, Cemex is participating in key projects across the world, supplying sustainable building materials and leading the way in decarbonizing the built environment.

平均而言，我們今天銷售的 Vertua 水泥和預拌混凝土與傳統產品相比，二氧化碳排放量減少了 45% 至 49%，這是相當顯著的。從奧運前巴黎大皇宮的翻修，到拉丁美洲最長的隧道，再到舊金山 28 英畝的綜合用途設施，Cemex 正在參與世界各地的重要項目，提供永續建築材料和引領建築環境脫碳。

I recognize we are at an important moment in our capital allocation strategy with the expected closing of $2.2 billion in announced divestments by the end of the year. I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm what we have discussed a few months ago, during our Cemex Day event related to our capital allocation framework.

我意識到，我們正處於資本配置策略的重要時刻，預計到年底將宣布撤資 22 億美元。我想藉此機會重申我們幾個月前在 Cemex Day 活動期間討論過的與我們的資本配置框架相關的內容。

You should expect that we will continue to execute a balanced approach where we will prioritize recycling divestiture proceeds into growth investments, while also focusing on deleveraging and accelerating shareholder return.

您應該期望我們將繼續執行平衡的方法，我們將優先將剝離收益回收到成長投資中，同時也專注於去槓桿化和加速股東回報。

The growth strategy is focused on investing in developed markets and Mexico with particular focus on the US, which we are expecting over the medium term to contribute to 40% of consolidated EBITDA. With the divestment proceeds, we will continue to pursue bolt-on margin enhancement investments aligned to what we have done over the last few years, but complement these efforts with a small to mid-sized M&A transactions.

成長策略的重點是投資已開發市場和墨西哥，特別是美國，我們預計中期內美國將佔綜合 EBITDA 的 40%。利用撤資所得，我們將繼續尋求與過去幾年的做法一致的補充利潤率提高投資，但透過中小型併購交易來補充這些努力。

At the product level, investments are a focus on aggregates, urbanization solutions, and addressing specific needs in cement and decarbonization. We also expect to continue allocating capital to reduce our net debt leverage ratio to 1.5 times over the next two years. And as a third element of our framework, we will gradually build on the recent initiation of a progressive dividend program and opportunistic share buyback program to return cash to shareholders.

在產品層面，投資重點在於骨材、都市化解決方案以及滿足水泥和脫碳的特定需求。我們也預期未來兩年將繼續配置資本，將淨債務槓桿率降低至 1.5 倍。作為我們框架的第三個要素，我們將逐步在最近啟動的漸進式股利計畫和機會主義股票回購計畫的基礎上向股東返還現金。

Our business, having growing nicely since 2020 with a CAGR of 14%, driven not only by organic growth but also by our growth strategy adopted in 2019. With $1.1 billion invested in 239 projects, our completed projects had an average IRR of 35%.

自 2020 年以來，我們的業務成長良好，複合年增長率為 14%，這不僅受到有機成長的推動，也受到我們 2019 年採取的成長策略的推動。我們在 239 個專案中投資了 11 億美元，已完成專案的平均 IRR 為 35%。

The portfolio contribution is accelerating with growth projects now accounting for $325 million in 2023, roughly 10% of total EBITDA. The completed projects consist of accretive bolt-on and margin enhancement investments, typically within our existing footprint. They offer important synergies with our existing product portfolio and customers with significantly less acquisition risk.

投資組合的貢獻正在加速成長，到 2023 年，成長項目的規模將達到 3.25 億美元，約佔 EBITDA 總額的 10%。已完成的項目包括增值附加投資和利潤提高投資，通常在我們現有的佔地面積範圍內。它們與我們現有的產品組合和客戶提供了重要的協同效應，並且收購風險顯著降低。

The growth strategy is proving to be a great complement to our organic growth. We expect that the contribution from our $3 billion pipeline of growth investments will continue to ramp up and contribute more than $700 million of EBITDA by 2028. Excluding cement legacy projects, half of the investments are expected to be allocated to the US.

事實證明，這一成長策略是對我們有機成長的有力補充。我們預計 30 億美元的成長投資管道的貢獻將繼續增加，到 2028 年貢獻超過 7 億美元的 EBITDA。不包括水泥遺留項目，一半的投資預計將分配給美國。

These are examples of some of the growth investments that we have executed over the last three years. Our initial portfolio consisting primarily of bolt-on investments offer IRRs in the 35% area. Going forward, as we pursue small- and medium-sized acquisitions, we expect overall return metrics to be somewhat tighter.

這些是我們在過去三年中執行的一些成長投資的範例。我們最初的投資組合主要由補充投資組成，內部報酬率在 35% 左右。展望未來，隨著我們追求中小型收購，我們預期整體報酬指標將更加嚴格。

And now back to you, Lucy.

現在回到你身上，露西。

Thank you, Fernando. Consistent with our expectations, volumes in our Mexican operations slowed as construction activity decelerated after the June election. The slowdown was further exacerbated by record precipitation and a prior year base effect in which EBITDA rose more than 30%. For the full quarter, precipitation levels were 50% higher than the prior year. We estimate the impact from bad weather on EBITDA to be approximately $8 million.

謝謝你，費爾南多。與我們的預期一致，由於 6 月大選後建築活動放緩，我們墨西哥業務的銷量有所放緩。創紀錄的降水量和去年的基數效應（EBITDA 成長超過 30%）進一步加劇了經濟放緩。整個季度的降水量比去年同期增加了 50%。我們估計惡劣天氣對 EBITDA 的影響約為 800 萬美元。

As a forward-looking indicator, we continue to see healthy growth in our ready-mix order book for projects related to nearshoring and infrastructure. Importantly, our cement and ready-mix prices rose mid-single digits and help to alleviate some of the cost pressure in the form of an unfavorable currency movement, higher maintenance, and electricity cost.

作為前瞻性指標，我們繼續看到與近岸外包和基礎設施相關項目的預混訂單簿健康成長。重要的是，我們的水泥和預拌混凝土價格上漲了中個位數，有助於緩解不利的貨幣走勢、更高的維護和電力成本等方面的成本壓力。

The margin variation related primarily to a 30% rise in electricity cost compared to a mid-single-digit decline observed in the first half. We are in the midst of transitioning our power supply sourcing in Mexico. And in the interim, we are incurring incremental cost, which should reverse in first quarter 2025.

利潤率變化主要與電力成本上漲 30% 相關，而上半年觀察到的中個位數下降。我們正在過渡墨西哥的電源採購。在此期間，我們會產生增量成本，這種情況應該會在 2025 年第一季扭轉。

In October, we announced a 5% price increase for bagged cement to offset recent cost inflation. Over the medium term, we are optimistic about Mexico's growth prospects. As the new government settles in, its agenda appears supportive of housing as well as infrastructure. In the past few days, the government announced its intention to build 1 million homes over the next six years as well as reaffirming the development of 10 economic corridors across the country, with the purpose of capitalizing on the nearshoring story.

10 月份，我們宣布將袋裝水泥價格上漲 5%，以抵銷近期的成本上漲。從中期來看，我們對墨西哥的成長前景持樂觀態度。隨著新政府就任，其議程似乎支持住房和基礎設施。過去幾天，政府宣布打算在未來六年內建造 100 萬套住房，並重申在全國範圍內開發 10 條經濟走廊，目的是利用近岸外包的優勢。

Recently announced investments of more than $20 billion in the energy, tourism, IT, and logistics sectors provides an encouraging outlook for the administration's receptivity to foreign direct investment. Demand for our products and solutions will continue to be supported by social programs, wage growth in real terms, high remittances and circular construction opportunities.

最近宣布的能源、旅遊、IT 和物流領域投資超過 200 億美元，為政府接受外國直接投資的前景提供了令人鼓舞的前景。對我們產品和解決方案的需求將繼續得到社會計畫、實質薪資成長、高額匯款和循環建設機會的支持。

In the US, our operations were impacted by extreme weather conditions with three major hurricanes and above-average precipitation and flooding. Several of our key markets experienced 50% to 200% higher precipitation than the prior year. We expect some lost volumes to be recovered in future quarters.

在美國，我們的業務受到極端天氣條件的影響，包括三大颶風以及高於平均水平的降水和洪水。我們的幾個主要市場的降水量比上年增加了 50% 至 200%。我們預計一些損失的銷售量將在未來幾季得到恢復。

EBITDA declined slightly due to lower cement and ready-mix volumes. The resiliency of the business to the drop in volumes was impressive with EBITDA margin stable, driven by lower imports, energy cost deceleration, and our operational optimization efforts. Aggregate volumes, which are typically less sensitive to weather, declined 1%. We estimate the impact of adverse weather on EBITDA to be $17 million, which explains all of the EBITDA variation year-over-year.

由於水泥和預拌混凝土銷量下降，EBITDA 略有下降。在進口減少、能源成本下降和我們的營運優化努力的推動下，業務對銷售下降的彈性令人印象深刻，EBITDA 利潤率保持穩定。通常對天氣較不敏感的總產量下降了 1%。我們估計惡劣天氣對 EBITDA 的影響為 1700 萬美元，這解釋了 EBITDA 的所有同比變化。

I would like to highlight our aggregates operations, which is now the largest contributor to US profitability. Year-to-date, it accounts for 36% of EBITDA with margins in excess of 30%. Pricing for our three-core products rose low single digits. We anticipate improved conditions in 2025, supported by underlying demand for infrastructure, improved activity, and housing and stabilization of the commercial sector.

我想強調我們的聚合業務，它現在是美國獲利能力的最大貢獻者。今年迄今為止，它佔 EBITDA 的 36%，利潤率超過 30%。我們的三核心產品的定價上漲了低個位數。我們預計，在基礎設施潛在需求、活動改善、住房和商業部門穩定的支持下，2025 年情況將有所改善。

Only half of the IIJA funding have been allocated to date, and we expect affordability for the residential sector to gradually improve as rates adjust downwards. Finally, we are excited about our recent joint venture with couch aggregates, which will increase our distribution capabilities and eventually add to our aggregates reserves in the Mid-South market.

迄今為止，IIJA 資金僅分配了一半，我們預計隨著利率下調，住宅領域的負擔能力將逐漸改善。最後，我們對最近與沙發骨材的合資企業感到興奮，這將增強我們的分銷能力，並最終增加我們在中南部市場的骨料儲備。

We are pleased with EMEA's performance where we believe we are experiencing an important inflection point in our European business. EMEA EBITDA was stable year-over-year and we believe we are seeing a recovery in the region. Europe is leading the turnaround with EBITDA growth on a reported basis and where for the first time in nine quarters, we have seen volume growth.

我們對歐洲、中東和非洲地區的表現感到滿意，我們相信我們的歐洲業務正在經歷一個重要的轉折點。歐洲、中東和非洲地區的 EBITDA 同比穩定，我們相信該地區正在復甦。歐洲在 EBITDA 成長方面處於領先地位，並且在九個季度以來我們首次看到銷售成長。

The improvement in volume is largely attributable to better economic activity, lower interest rates, the lifting of the construction ban related to the Paris Olympics, and an easier prior year comparison.

成交量的改善主要歸因於經濟活動的改善、利率的降低、與巴黎奧運相關的建築禁令的解除以及去年比較的改善。

The year-over-year variation in EBITDA improved significantly versus the prior three quarters. Prices for our three core products were stable across our European footprint, while most of our costs continued to decelerate, particularly in energy for cement production.

與前三個季度相比，EBITDA 的同比變化顯著改善。我們在歐洲的三種核心產品的價格保持穩定，而我們的大部分成本繼續下降，特別是在水泥生產的能源方面。

On climate action, Cemex Europe continues to test record levels of decarbonization with a 5% reduction year-to-date in CO2 per tonne of cement, supported by clinker factor reduction of 1.7 percentage points. Finally, in the Middle East and Africa, EBITDA increased due to better pricing dynamics in Egypt and improved construction activity in Israel.

在氣候行動方面，Cemex Europe 繼續測試創紀錄的脫碳水平，在熟料係數降低 1.7 個百分點的支持下，今年迄今每噸水泥的二氧化碳排放量減少了 5%。最後，在中東和非洲，由於埃及定價動態改善和以色列建築活動改善，EBITDA 增加。

As mentioned earlier, we have reclassified the Dominican Republic and Guatemalan operations as discontinued operations. Our SCAC operations experienced a challenging quarter in terms of volumes impacted by two hurricanes as well as the transportation strike in Colombia. These events impacted EBITDA by an estimated $7 million.

如前所述，我們已將多明尼加共和國和危地馬拉業務重新歸類為已終止業務。我們的 SCAC 業務經歷了一個充滿挑戰的季度，受兩次颶風和哥倫比亞運輸罷工影響，業務量受到影響。這些事件對 EBITDA 的影響估計為 700 萬美元。

EBITDA and EBITDA margin declined 27% and 5 percentage points, respectively, driven by lower volumes and higher maintenance. Despite the current demand environment, prices for our products rose between 3% and 10%. The formal sector continues driving demand with large infrastructure projects, such as the Bogota Metro, in which Cemex was awarded approximately 80% of total volumes. And the fourth bridge over the canal in Panama.

由於產量減少和維護費用增加，EBITDA 和 EBITDA 利潤率分別下降 27% 和 5 個百分點。儘管目前的需求環境不佳，我們產品的價格仍上漲了 3% 至 10%。正規部門繼續推動大型基礎設施項目的需求，例如波哥大地鐵，其中 Cemex 獲得了約 80% 的總量。還有巴拿馬運河上的第四座橋樑。

And now I will pass the call to Maher to review our financial developments.

現在我將把電話轉給馬赫，以審查我們的財務發展。

Thank you, Lucy, and good day to everyone. Sales and EBITDA for the first nine months of the year were down 1% and 2%, respectively, versus last year. As mentioned earlier, we have faced volume headwinds due to adverse weather and weak demand dynamics in several of our markets. Despite this, our year-to-date EBITDA margin has shown remarkable resiliency and is virtually flat to last year at 19.4%. This performance is a consequence of our pricing strategy, which has outpaced inflation in our business, as well as cost containment and business optimization efforts.

謝謝你，露西，祝大家美好的一天。今年前 9 個月的銷售額和 EBITDA 與去年同期相比分別下降了 1% 和 2%。如前所述，由於天氣惡劣和多個市場的需求動態疲軟，我們面臨銷售逆風。儘管如此，我們今年迄今的 EBITDA 利潤率表現出顯著的彈性，與去年 19.4% 幾乎持平。這一業績是我們的定價策略以及成本控制和業務優化努力的結果，該策略超過了我們業務的通膨率。

On the cost side, year-to-date, we saw a 23% decline in fuel cost on a per tonne of cement basis. This was driven by lower fuel prices, the increased use of lower cost and lower carbon fuels and our continued reduction in clinker factor. We have seen this cost trending down since third quarter of 2023 and expect this to continue through year-end. Currently, close to 80% of our hedgeable energy and freight costs are either contractually fixed or hedged for 2024, while for 2025, we are close to a 60% level.

在成本方面，今年迄今，每噸水泥的燃料成本下降了 23%。這是由較低的燃料價格、更多地使用低成本和低碳燃料以及我們持續降低熟料係數所推動的。自 2023 年第三季以來，我們發現這一成本呈下降趨勢，並預計這種趨勢將持續到年底。目前，我們近 80% 的可對沖能源和貨運成本要么按照合約固定，要么在 2024 年進行對沖，而到 2025 年，這一比例接近 60%。

Free cash flow after maintenance CapEx for the first nine months of the year was impacted by nonrecurring items for $383 million, which includes a $306 million payment towards the $500 million Spanish tax line announced in fourth quarter of 2023. Adjusting for these exrordinary payments, free cash flow year-to-date would be 23% lower than last year due primarily to lower EBITDA and fewer fixed asset sales.

今年前 9 個月的維護資本支出後的自由現金流受到非經常性項目的影響，達 3.83 億美元，其中包括向 2023 年第四季宣布的 5 億美元西班牙稅收額度支付的 3.06 億美元。在調整這些特別付款後，今年迄今的自由現金流將比去年減少 23%，這主要是由於 EBITDA 下降和固定資產銷售減少。

Working capital investment so far this year has been $415 million, and we remain on track to achieve our guidance of reducing working capital by about $300 million for the full year. Net income for the first nine months of the year was $891 million, 43% higher than last year, driven primarily by a lower effective tax rate and the gain from the sale of our operations in Guatemala in third quarter.

今年到目前為止，營運資本投資已達 4.15 億美元，我們仍有望實現全年營運資本減少約 3 億美元的目標。今年前 9 個月的淨利潤為 8.91 億美元，比去年增長 43%，這主要是由於有效稅率較低以及第三季度出售危地馬拉業務的收益所致。

Given the volatility in the Mexican peso this year, I would like to highlight that we have an ongoing Mexican peso hedging strategy, fully covering our operating cash flow from our Mexican operations that effectively lowers the volatility of the exchange rate at which we convert pesos into dollars for [tenors] of up to 2 years. The benefit of our peso hedging strategy and our consolidated net debt reached $185 million on a year-to-date basis and $95 million during the third quarter, including conversion gains on peso denominated debt.

鑑於今年墨西哥比索的波動，我想強調的是，我們有一個持續的墨西哥比索對沖策略，完全涵蓋了我們墨西哥業務的營運現金流，有效降低了我們將比索兌換成的匯率的波動性[期限]長達2 年。我們的比索對沖策略和合併淨債務的收益今年迄今達到 1.85 億美元，第三季達到 9,500 萬美元，其中包括以比索計價的債務的轉換收益。

This program helps smooth out our free cash flow in dollar terms. Our leverage ratio stood at 2.22 times, about 1/10 of return higher than second quarter, driven primarily by lower EBITDA and the payment of the Spanish tax line. Our leverage ratio is expected to be substantially lower by the end of the year as we closed the sale of our $2 billion in remaining announced divestments. As we have stated before, these proceeds will be used mostly to fund our growth strategy going forward.

該計劃有助於平滑我們以美元計算的自由現金流。我們的槓桿率為 2.22 倍，約為第二季度回報率的 1/10，這主要是由於 EBITDA 下降和西班牙稅線支付。隨著我們完成剩餘已宣布撤資中 20 億美元的出售，預計我們的槓桿率將在今年年底大幅降低。正如我們之前所說，這些收益將主要用於為我們未來的成長策略提供資金。

And now back to you, Fernando.

現在回到你身上，費爾南多。

We are adjusting our full year EBITDA guidance to a low single-digit percentage decrease. This primarily reflects the impact of weather in third quarter as well as the current Mexican peso FX rate relative to our previous guidance. We remind you that our guidance is for like-to-like operations and assumes FX as of the end of the quarter for the remaining of the year.

我們正在將全年 EBITDA 指導調整為較低的個位數百分比下降。這主要反映了第三季天氣的影響以及當前墨西哥比索匯率相對於我們先前指引的影響。我們提醒您，我們的指導適用於同類操作，並假設截至本季末的今年剩餘時間的外匯匯率。

For total CapEx, we are reducing our guidance by $100 million to $1.5 billion. This guidance expects a significant ramp-up in spending in fourth quarter, the pace of which is not completely in our control. For cash taxes, we are reducing our guidance by $100 million to $900 million, to reflect the recent payment of the Spanish tax line. Please see the annex for our current volume guidance by region.

對於總資本支出，我們將指導意見減少 1 億美元至 15 億美元。該指引預計第四季支出將大幅增加，但其速度並不完全在我們的控制範圍內。對於現金稅，我們將指導意見減少 1 億美元至 9 億美元，以反映西班牙稅收線最近的繳納情況。請參閱附件，以了解我們目前按地區劃分的數量指南。

It is a bit early for us to be talking about 2025, but I would like to share some of our thoughts on the upcoming year. We will, of course, give the usual guidance when we report fourth quarter results. We are seeing the evolution of some important macro trends and demand drivers for next year and beyond. Billions of dollars in fiscal stimulus remain to be deployed in the US and Europe for infrastructure and climate action purposes. We also expect the near sharing story to continue to unfold as global supply chain shift and consolidate.

現在談論 2025 年還為時過早，但我想分享我們對即將到來的一年的一些想法。當然，當我們報告第四季度業績時，我們將給出通常的指導。我們正在看到明年及以後一些重要宏觀趨勢和需求驅動因素的演變。美國和歐洲仍需部署數十億美元的財政刺激措施，用於基礎設施和氣候行動。我們也預計，隨著全球供應鏈的轉移和整合，近乎共享的故事將繼續展開。

In 2024, we had a record year for global elections occurring in countries home to almost half of the world's population. As we enter 2025, with more visibility on the policy of the new administrations, we expect incremental spending from both, the private and public sector. Decrease in interest rates across the globe should stimulate additional private sector investment in the residential and industrial space. All of this should be supportive of demand conditions for our products in the core markets in 2025.

2024 年，我們在擁有世界近一半人口的國家舉行的全球選舉中創下了歷史記錄。進入 2025 年，隨著新政府的政策更加清晰，我們預計私營和公共部門的支出都會增加。全球利率下降應該會刺激私營部門對住宅和工業領域的更多投資。所有這些都應該支持 2025 年我們產品在核心市場的需求狀況。

And now back to you, Lucy.

現在回到你身上，露西。

Before we go into our Q&A session, I would like to remind you that any forward-looking statements we make today are based on our current knowledge of the markets in which we operate and could change in the future due to a variety of factors beyond our control.

在我們進入問答環節之前，我想提醒您，我們今天做出的任何前瞻性陳述都是基於我們目前對我們經營所在市場的了解，並且由於我們無法預測的各種因素，未來可能會發生變化。控制。

In addition, unless the context indicates otherwise, all references to pricing initiatives, price increases or decreases refer to prices for our products. And now we will be happy to take your questions.

此外，除非上下文另有說明，所有提及的定價措施、價格上漲或下跌均指我們產品的價格。現在我們很樂意回答您的問題。

Gordon Lee, BTG Pactual.

戈登李，BTG Pactual。

Hi. Thank you, Lucy. Good morning and thank you very much for the call. I just wanted to drill down a little further on the volume shortfall for the quarter and particularly get a better understanding of how confident you are that the bulk of it or a significant portion of it at least was weather-driven, whether you see some normalization of that as the fourth quarter has now begun. And it looks like weather seems to have normalized in most places.

你好。謝謝你，露西。早安，非常感謝您的來電。我只是想進一步深入了解本季度的銷量缺口，特別是更好地了解您對其中大部分或至少很大一部分是由天氣驅動的信心有多大，無論您是否看到一些正常化第四季度現已開始。看起來大多數地方的天氣似乎已經恢復正常。

And then maybe also at sort of explain to us how your backlog performed, particularly in Mexico and the US, in contrast to the volume performance that you saw during the quarter. Just to get a better sense of how confident you are in attributing a good part of that weakness to weather and not to something more structural or underlying on the demand front?

然後也許還要向我們解釋一下您的積壓情況，特別是在墨西哥和美國，與您在本季度看到的銷售表現相比。只是為了更好地了解您是否有信心將這種疲軟的很大一部分歸因於天氣，而不是需求方面更具結構性或潛在性的因素？

Great. Lucy, do you want to -- let me take Mexico and then follow with the US or?

偉大的。露西，你想──讓我先去墨西哥，然後再去美國嗎？

Sure. Go right ahead Maher.

當然。往前走，馬赫。

So Gordon, just to remind the -- also the listeners, I mean, Mexico was down 7% on the quarter. And we had pretty bad weather both in July and in September. So that was very important. And we estimate -- I mean, as you can imagine, the impact is not just the number of days of precipitation, but also prep before and after some of these storms that take place, and that applies to all of our markets. So the impact is quite material. And for the quarter, in the case of Mexico, we estimate about 40% was -- 40% of the drop in volumes of the 7% is really due to weather.

戈登，只是想提醒一下——還有聽眾，我的意思是，墨西哥本季下跌了 7%。七月和九月的天氣都很糟。所以這非常重要。我們估計——我的意思是，正如你可以想像的那樣，影響不僅僅是降水天數，還包括在發生一些風暴之前和之後的準備工作，這適用於我們所有的市場。所以影響是相當重大的。對於本季度，就墨西哥而言，我們估計大約 40% 的銷量下降（7%）中的 40% 實際上是由於天氣造成的。

And the balance is due to the kind of post election slowdown. And clearly, we've had some slowdown in the infrastructure side, the residential market in Mexico, especially the formal construction. Housing market continued to be challenged because of the interest rate environment. But we do believe that things should be getting better.

平衡是由於選舉後的經濟放緩造成的。顯然，我們在基礎設施方面、墨西哥的住宅市場，尤其是正式建設方面出現了一些放緩。由於利率環境，房地產市場繼續面臨挑戰。但我們確實相信事情應該會變得更好。

Now the other thing that you've got to consider is when we're comparing to last year, third quarter, pretty much all over our markets, things were phenomenally better, right? And so we're suffering also from a base effect comparison versus last year.

現在，您必須考慮的另一件事是，當我們與去年第三季相比時，幾乎整個市場的情況都明顯好轉，對吧？因此，我們也受到與去年相比的基本效應的影響。

Lucy, I don't know if you want to cover the US piece.

露西，我不知道你是否想報道美國的部分。

Sure. I think it might be useful to talk a little bit too about how we calculate the weather impact because I think it's a pretty conservative estimate. Normally, the way we look at it is if operations are closed and we aren't able to sell during those days plus any repairs coming out of the business that we need to make because of the hurricane and any new imports perhaps that we need to bring in to support supply in the aftermath.

當然。我認為討論我們如何計算天氣影響可能會有用，因為我認為這是一個相當保守的估計。通常情況下，我們看待這個問題的方式是，如果業務關閉，我們無法在這些日子裡進行銷售，再加上由於颶風和我們可能需要的任何新進口而需要進行的業務維修事後引入以支持供應。

But it doesn't take into account the level of precipitation. The fact that the ground itself is very wet that it takes a while for contractors to begin to scale up after a hurricane as they get through the debris and everything else. So I think if anything, our estimates with regard to weather impact are fairly conservative, and that's important to remember.

但它沒有考慮降水量。事實上，地面本身非常潮濕，颶風過後，承包商需要一段時間才能開始擴大規模，因為他們要穿過廢墟和其他一切。因此，我認為，如果有什麼不同的話，我們對天氣影響的估計相當保守，記住這一點很重要。

And the other thing that I would say specifically -- well, this is true for both the US and Mexico -- is that when the sun was out, we were actually seeing sales levels, average daily sales levels, very much in line with our expectations for the back half.

我要特別說的另一件事 - 嗯，這對美國和墨西哥來說都是如此 - 是當太陽出來時，我們實際上看到銷售水平，平均每日銷售水平，與我們的非常一致對後半程的期待。

And Gordon, to your point on the question in terms of the Mexico in particular, we were hard hit in July. We were hard hit in September, but August was very much in line with our expectations. And that I think also has been true in terms of October as well.

戈登，就你關於墨西哥問題的觀點而言，我們在 7 月受到了嚴重打擊。9月我們受到了重創，但8月非常符合我們的預期。我認為十月也是如此。

In the case of the United States, the weather impact, based on our definition of weather impact is a little bit higher than Mexico. It's about 50%. So we reported a 6% decline in volumes, 3% of that was hurricane related on cement. And of course, we have three hurricanes during the quarter. And depending on markets, we were seeing precipitation of anywhere from 50% to 200% higher.

就美國而言，根據我們對天氣影響的定義，天氣影響略高於墨西哥。大約是50%。因此，我們報告銷量下降了 6%，其中 3% 與颶風有關的水泥量下降。當然，本季我們遇到了三場颶風。根據市場情況，我們發現降水量增加了 50% 到 200%。

Now of course, weather doesn't explain all of the volumes. We continue to see somewhat of a slowdown in terms of residential that we've been seeing on a year-over-year basis. And commercial also, although it's beginning to bottom, but it has been a little bit slow as well.

當然，天氣並不能解釋所有的體積。我們繼續看到住宅市場較去年同期有所放緩。還有商業方面，雖然已經開始觸底，但也有點慢了。

But we would attribute about 50% of volumes to weather. And again, as we look at what's been happening in terms of October, it's a difficult month because, of course, we were hit by a hurricane in the second week of October, and that has had an impact. But certainly, what we've seen is a resumption in terms of average daily sales in line with our expectations for the US business for the back half.

但我們將大約 50% 的體積歸因於天氣。再說一次，當我們看看 10 月發生的事情時，這是一個艱難的月份，因為當然，我們在 10 月的第二週受到了颶風的襲擊，這產生了影響。但可以肯定的是，我們看到的是日均銷售額的恢復，符合我們對下半年美國業務的預期。

Super. That's very helpful. Thank you very much.

極好的。這非常有幫助。非常感謝。

Paco Chavez, BBVA ACO.

帕科·查韋斯，BBVA ACO。

Hi Fernando Maher, Lucy. Thanks for the call and for taking my question. Can you give additional color on Mexico's margin dropped and the reason for higher electricity costs? And also with demand decelerating in Mexico, how feasible it is for you to continue increasing cement prices in order to recover margins? Thank you.

嗨，費爾南多·馬赫，露西。感謝您的來電並回答我的問題。您能否進一步說明墨西哥利潤率下降以及電費上漲的原因？而且隨著墨西哥的需求減速，您繼續提高水泥價格以恢復利潤的可行性有多大？謝謝。

Thanks, Paco. On the margin and the impact -- the biggest impact, I would say, on the margin was the impact of electricity, the negative impact of electricity, which was about 1.8 percentage points of the decline was due to that effect in the quarter. And then we had another percentage point or so impact in terms of volume.

謝謝，帕科。關於利潤率和影響——我想說，對利潤率的最大影響是電力的影響，電力的負面影響，大約1.8個百分點的下降是由於本季度的影響造成的。然後我們在數量方面又產生了另一個百分點左右的影響。

Now fortunately, that was offset, to some extent, by a very sizable increase in pricing, 3.2 percentage points positive contribution to margins as a consequence of our pricing -- successful pricing strategy.

現在幸運的是，這在一定程度上被定價大幅上漲所抵消，由於我們的定價——成功的定價策略——對利潤率的積極貢獻為3.2個百分點。

And in terms of what caused the uptick in the price of electricity, it's that we started migrating in the quarter to the wholesale market. and that happened for a large number of our plants, but not all of our plants. And so we were essentially reducing the amount of electricity that we're getting under our agreement with the TEG, which is the electricity self-producing facility that we have. And we started buying electricity in the spot market from CFE. And that -- there is a price differential between 30% to 35% for the quarter as a consequence of that.

就導致電價上漲的原因而言，我們在本季開始轉向批發市場。我們的許多工廠都發生了這種情況，但不是所有工廠。因此，我們基本上減少了根據與 TEG 達成的協議所獲得的電量，TEG 是我們擁有的自發電設施。我們開始從 CFE 現貨市場購買電力。因此，本季的價格差異在 30% 到 35% 之間。

Now that's likely to continue into the fourth quarter. It's likely to dissipate as we go into the beginning of the year, number one, because most of our plants, if not all of our plants, will have been migrated to the wholesale market. But additionally, sometime in the beginning of next year, we will start purchasing under a contract in the wholesale market from the TEG.

現在這種情況可能會持續到第四季。第一，隨著我們進入年初，這種情況可能會消散，因為我們的大多數工廠（如果不是全部）都將被遷移到批發市場。此外，在明年初的某個時候，我們將開始根據批發市場的合約從 TEG 進行採購。

So we will be reverting to pricing that is much lower cost base than coming from CFE, probably around, again, 30%. So throughout the course of the year, we should be significantly recovering the increase in the cost of electricity that we saw in the quarter.

因此，我們將恢復成本基礎遠低於 CFE 的定價，並可能再次降低 30% 左右。因此，在這一年中，我們應該會顯著恢復本季電力成本的成長。

I don't know if that answers the question. Was there a follow-up question that I missed?

我不知道這是否回答了問題。我是否漏掉了後續問題？

On the pricing?

關於定價？

Yes. On the pricing sorry -- yes. Go ahead, Lucy.

是的。關於定價，抱歉——是的。來吧，露西。

No, I was just going to say that as Maher said, pricing was quite strong on a year-over-year basis. We were up about 3%, I think, year-over-year. That was covering our fixed and variable cost increases and fixed costs are up because of the volume decline as well in margin terms. But importantly, we did announce a pricing increase. In fact, our competitors in Mexico actually first led with the pricing increase. And we did follow in early October on bag cement with a 5% increase.

不，我只是想說，正如馬赫所說，定價比去年同期相當強勁。我認為我們同比增長了約 3%。這涵蓋了我們的固定和可變成本增加，固定成本由於銷售下降以及利潤率下降而增加。但重要的是，我們確實宣布了價格上漲。事實上，我們在墨西哥的競爭對手實際上首先率先提高了價格。10 月初，我們確實跟進了袋裝水泥的上漲 5%。

Great. Thanks so much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Anne Milne, Bank of America.

安妮·米爾恩，美國銀行。

Good morning, Maher, Fernando, Lucy. Thank you very much for the call. My question has to do with the comment on the larger contribution of the aggregates business in the US. Is this something that you are expecting that will continue going forward? And is it possible to see something similar in any of Cemex's other countries or regions? Thank you.

早安，馬赫、費南多、露西。非常感謝您的來電。我的問題與對美國骨材業務更大貢獻的評論有關。這是您期待的事情並將繼續發展嗎？在 Cemex 的其他國家或地區是否有可能看到類似的情況？謝謝。

Yes. I mean if we -- first -- I guess if we step back on the importance of the aggregates business in the US, it's really quite material. It's now more than a third of our EBITDA. Actually, it's around 36%, 37% of our EBITDA. It's extremely profitable, and this is one of the businesses that we have targeted for further future capital allocation as we go forward.

是的。我的意思是，如果我們——首先——我想如果我們退一步考慮美國骨料業務的重要性，那麼它確實非常重要。現在它已占我們 EBITDA 的三分之一以上。實際上，它大約占我們 EBITDA 的 36%、37%。它的利潤非常豐厚，這是我們未來進一步資本配置的目標業務之一。

We think that because of regulatory constraints and because of the outlook for growth in the construction market in the US, it's a very attractive space. We've had very good pricing environment and has enjoyed that for a very long time. So this is an area that we continue to focus on.

我們認為，由於監管限制以及美國建築市場的成長前景，這是一個非常有吸引力的空間。我們擁有非常好的定價環境，並且已經享受了很長一段時間。所以這是我們繼續關注的一個領域。

We do see opportunities elsewhere in our portfolio to allocate capital in that. And without getting into details, just to respond -- I mean I would say that certainly, Mexico is an area that may benefit from that in the long term, we certainly would take a look at other parts of developed markets where we see the supply-demand dynamics for aggregates and pricing strategies for aggregates being positive.

我們確實在我們的投資組合的其他地方看到了在這方面配置資本的機會。在不討論細節的情況下，只是為了回應——我的意思是，我當然會說，從長遠來看，墨西哥是一個可能從中受益的地區，我們當然會看看我們看到供應的發達市場的其他地區- 總量的需求動態和總量的定價策略是積極的。

So this is an area of high priority in terms of allocating capital in the future. And we think pricing capabilities in that market should continue to be fairly positive as well.

所以這是未來資本配置的重點領域。我們認為該市場的定價能力也應該繼續相當積極。

Great. Thank you very much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

Adrian Huerta, JPMorgan.

阿德里安·韋爾塔，摩根大通。

Thank you, Lucy. My question has to do with the capital allocation. First, on the [$3 billion] that were mentioned on the pipeline that you have that is expected to add $700 million on EBITDA by 2028. How much of this has been invested? And if this is part of the growth CapEx?

謝謝你，露西。我的問題與資本配置有關。首先，在管道中提到的[30億美元]，預計到2028年EBITDA將增加7億美元。其中已經投資了多少？如果這是成長資本支出的一部分？

And then on the proceeds from the asset sales, what percentage of that could end up being allocated towards reducing debt and why not being more active on buybacks?

然後，就資產出售的收益而言，其中有多少比例最終可以用於減少債務，為什麼不更積極地進行回購？

Yes. I don't think I got the first part of the question, Adrian. Could you mention again, please?

是的。我認為我沒有回答問題的第一部分，阿德里安。請您再提一下好嗎？

Sure, Maher. You guys mentioned that there was a $3 billion investment pipeline. I guess that there has been -- some of that has been executed already that are expected to add $700 million on EBITDA by 2028?

當然，馬赫。你們提到有 30 億美元的投資管道。我猜其中一些已經執行，預計到 2028 年將增加 7 億美元的 EBITDA？

Yeah. I mean, so far --

是的。我的意思是，到目前為止--

How much has been invested so far basically was the question.

到目前為止，基本上已經投資了多少，這是一個問題。

Right. so far, about a third of that has been invested, about $1.1 billion. And so far, it's contributing north of 11%, 12% of EBITDA. And the multiples that we have been investing in because of the type of investments that we have been making, which are bolt-on acquisitions or margin enhancement investments have been quite attractive. The multiple has been between 3 to 4 times. So clearly -- and these are very accretive transactions.

正確的。到目前為止，其中約三分之一已投入使用，約 11 億美元。到目前為止，它貢獻了 EBITDA 的 11%、12% 以上。由於我們一直在進行的投資類型（補強收購或利潤提升投資），我們一直在投資的倍數非常有吸引力。倍數在3到4倍之間。很明顯——這些都是非常增值的交易。

Now the remaining portion of that $3 billion, about $2 billion is expected to be invested in the next couple of years. And we are expecting to increase the total contribution of the $3 billion to around $700 million of EBITDA. So again, very accretive transactions, and we are likely to continue with the same profile and with the exposures primarily addressing the US market, that's where the highest bias, I would say, in terms of markets that we would like to invest in.

現在，這 30 億美元的剩餘部分（約 20 億美元）預計將在未來幾年內進行投資。我們預計這 30 億美元的 EBITDA 貢獻總額將增加至約 7 億美元。因此，再次強調，非常增值的交易，我們可能會繼續保持相同的形象，並且主要針對美國市場進行敞口，我想說，就我們想要投資的市場而言，美國市場是最大的偏見。

And in terms of the use of proceeds, I mean from the assets that we have divested, as Fernando mentioned in his opening remarks, will be substantially towards investing or recycling throughout our portfolio along the lines that we have done in the last two to three years. So there's really no change in the way that we're allocating our assets. There's going to be primary focus on the US.

就收益的用途而言，我的意思是，正如費爾南多在開場白中提到的那樣，我們剝離的資產基本上將用於投資或回收整個我們的投資組合，就像我們在過去兩到三年中所做的那樣年。所以我們分配資產的方式其實沒有改變。主要焦點將集中在美國。

Within the US, we're looking at aggregates. We're also looking at aggregates in general. Urbanization solutions is another area that has been extremely attractive and it has grown and now contributing quite a bit of our EBITDA, as you have seen. And we're also looking at very specific needs and investments in terms of cement and decarbonization. All of these transactions are likely to have IRRs that are north of 30% and average payback periods between three to four years. And I think that we have achieved that so far.

在美國，我們關注的是總量。我們也在整體上關注整體情況。城市化解決方案是另一個極具吸引力的領域，它已經發展起來，現在為我們的 EBITDA 做出了相當大的貢獻，正如您所看到的。我們也正在關注水泥和脫碳方面的非常具體的需求和投資。所有這些交易的 IRR 可能超過 30%，平均投資回收期在三到四年之間。我認為到目前為止我們已經實現了這一目標。

In addition, clearly, we are still committed to reducing leverage, as we've mentioned in our Analyst Day this year. We're looking at reducing leverage to around 1.5 times over the next two years. So some capital would be allocated to reduce leverage in that respect. And of course, we are quite committed to progressively increasing shareholder returns through sustainable dividends and eventually share buybacks.

此外，正如我們在今年的分析師日中提到的那樣，顯然我們仍然致力於降低槓桿率。我們計劃在未來兩年內將槓桿率降低至 1.5 倍左右。因此，將分配一些資本來降低這方面的槓桿率。當然，我們非常致力於透過可持續的股利和最終的股票回購來逐步提高股東回報。

Now to address your questions on share buybacks, we definitely believe that we're certainly trading today at a very low multiple. And it looks like it represents a very interesting opportunity for share repurchases. But we do believe that the current multiples that we're trading at are being affected substantially by what's happening in Mexico, election results in Mexico, election uncertainties in the US. That's creating a lot of volatility in the market, a lot of volatility in our stock price.

現在，為了解決您有關股票回購的問題，我們確信我們今天的交易價格肯定非常低。看起來這代表了一個非常有趣的股票回購機會。但我們確實相信，我們目前交易的本益比正在受到墨西哥發生的事情、墨西哥選舉結果和美國選舉不確定性的重大影響。這導致市場劇烈波動，我們的股價也劇烈波動。

So while we think it's a very low multiple, we do believe that this is a short-lived event or dynamic. And as I mentioned, from a capital allocation perspective, on a strategic level, we have quite a bit of opportunities to invest capital going forward in the next 24 months at very accretive levels at below our trading level.

因此，雖然我們認為這是一個非常低的倍數，但我們確實相信這是一個短暫的事件或動態。正如我所提到的，從資本配置的角度來看，在策略層面上，我們有相當多的機會在未來 24 個月內以低於我們交易水準的非常增值的水準進行資本投資。

Now that does not mean that we will not opportunistically to the extent it makes sense, do something on the buyback process. But from a strategic perspective, we think there's a lot of opportunities at accretive levels, at attractive multiples, and that will contribute growth in our EBITDA, which we believe our shareholders value quite a bit, delivering that growth over the long term.

但這並不意味著我們不會在有意義的範圍內機會主義地在回購過程中採取一些行動。但從策略角度來看，我們認為存在大量增值機會和有吸引力的倍數，這將有助於我們的 EBITDA 成長，我們相信我們的股東非常重視這一點，從而實現長期成長。

And also getting market positions that have first-mover advantages to them. So when we take a look at the strategy, we take a look at medium-term impacts as opposed to kind of short-term tactics, because the market is trading our stock price at a lower than desirable level from our perspective.

並獲得對他們有先發優勢的市場地位。因此，當我們審視該策略時，我們會關注中期影響，而不是短期策略，因為從我們的角度來看，市場交易我們的股價低於理想的水平。

I don't know if that addresses the question.

我不知道這是否解決了問題。

Yeah, thank you, Maher.

是的，謝謝你，馬赫。

Thanks a lot, Adrian.

非常感謝，阿德里安。

Paul Rogers, Exane BNP Pariba. Guidance is still for high single digit decline in energy costs despite Q3 issues in Mexico, does this suggest energy is going down by more than expected elsewhere? How hedged is the group into 2025?

保羅·羅傑斯，法國巴黎銀行Exane。儘管墨西哥第三季出現問題，但能源成本的指導仍然是高個位數下降，這是否表明其他地方的能源下降幅度超過預期？到 2025 年，該集團的對沖程度如何？

Yeah, Roger, thank you for the question. And the answer is yes. I mean, while we saw a spike in electricity because of the dynamic that I mentioned, which is the transitioning to the wholesale market in Mexico, which we expect to, again, as I mentioned, reverse itself in 2025, there has been a drop in energy prices, total energy prices in many of our markets.

是的，羅傑，謝謝你的提問。答案是肯定的。我的意思是，雖然由於我提到的動態，即向墨西哥批發市場的過渡，我們看到電力激增，正如我所提到的，我們預計這種情況將在2025 年再次逆轉，但電力卻有所下降在能源價格方面，我們許多市場的能源總價格。

And the same goes through for -- within energy for fuels and for electricity. And that's one of the reasons why we continue to believe that for the full year, guidance is going to continue to be a drop in the cost of energy for us.

燃料和電力能源領域也是如此。這就是為什麼我們仍然相信全年能源成本將繼續下降的原因之一。

And I could -- we could give you examples. For instance, I mean, in the case of electricity in the US, we had a drop in electricity costs in several markets in Europe. We had a drop in cost of electricity, for instance, fuels in general, are dropping and continue -- we expect it to continue to drop as well into the third quarter.

我可以——我們可以舉例給你聽。例如，我的意思是，就美國的電力而言，歐洲幾個市場的電力成本有所下降。我們的電力成本下降了，例如，整體燃料成本正在下降並持續下降——我們預計第三季也將繼續下降。

The use of alternative fuels of expensive alternative fuels is also dropping significantly, and that's translating to better performance for the full year at the end of the day and getting us to maintain our guidance that we have indicated on the energy side.

昂貴的替代燃料的使用量也在大幅下降，這意味著全年的表現最終會更好，並使我們維持我們在能源方面所顯示的指導。

Now in terms of how hedged in terms of how hedged we are, what I can tell you is that I kind of remarked at that in my remarks section, but also we continue to -- as far as diesel going into 2025, we're protected up to 15% increase versus where we are today.

現在，就我們的對沖程度而言，我可以告訴你的是，我在評論部分對此進行了評論，但我們也將繼續 - 就進入 2025 年的柴油而言，我們與目前的水平相比，增幅高達15%。

In terms of pet coke, we're hedged probably close to 10% versus where we are today. And in electricity, we're 76% of our electricity needs are fixed going into next year, either because they're regulated or because they're fixed or because we have fixed it contractually.

就石油焦而言，與目前相比，我們的對沖可能接近 10%。在電力方面，我們 76% 的電力需求將在明年得到解決，要么是因為它們受到監管，要么是因為它們是固定的，要么是因為我們已經通過合約解決了它。

So we've been very proactive on the energy side, pretty much all aspects of energy to try to take advantage of the levels that we have seen this year going into next year.

因此，我們在能源方面非常積極主動，幾乎在能源的各個方面都試圖利用今年到明年的水平。

And Maher, I believe that maybe diesel is almost 100% hedged actually for 2025, if I'm not mistaken.

Maher，我相信，如果我沒記錯的話，到 2025 年，柴油實際上可能幾乎 100% 對沖。

Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

是的。是的。是的。

Adam Thalhimer, Thompson Davis.

亞當·塔爾希默、湯普森·戴維斯。

Hey, good morning guys. Thanks for taking the question. So like you, I am surprised at the at the valuation, it's frustrating and I'm curious if you've looked at any other strategies to address that such as the primary US listing?

嘿，早上好，夥計們。感謝您提出問題。因此，和您一樣，我對估值感到驚訝，這令人沮喪，我很好奇您是否考慮過任何其他策略來解決這個問題，例如在美國首次上市？

Yeah. I mean, I'd hate to speculate, Adam, because I mean, obviously, we're always looking at ways to maximize shareholder value, right? But anything that is along the lines that you're suggesting is -- it's a major operation. It has its positives, it has its negatives. It takes time to execute. We need to evaluate the ramifications on other things. I mean, at the end of the day, we are optimizing shareholder value at the CX level foremost, I would say.

是的。我的意思是，我不想猜測，亞當，因為我的意思是，顯然，我們一直在尋找最大化股東價值的方法，對吧？但任何符合你建議的內容都是——這是一項重大行動。它有其積極的一面，也有其消極的一面。執行需要時間。我們需要評估對其他事情的影響。我的意思是，我想說，歸根結底，我們首先要在客戶體驗層面優化股東價值。

So I think I would hate to speculate on this. What I can tell you is that we're constantly evaluating different strategies and seeing how we can deliver the most efficient way of shining the light on the valuation of the company. But I would -- I really would prefer not to speculate on whether we're looking at a particular strategy versus another at this point in time.

所以我想我不想對此進行猜測。我可以告訴你的是，我們不斷評估不同的策略，看看如何提供最有效的方式來闡明公司的估值。但我真的不想猜測我們此時是否正在考慮某種特定策略而不是另一種策略。

Okay. Thanks Maher.

好的。謝謝馬赫。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Carlos Peyrelongue, Bank of America.

卡洛斯·佩雷隆格，美國銀行。

Thank you, Lucy. My question has already been answered. Thank you.

謝謝你，露西。我的問題已經得到解答。謝謝。

Thanks, Carlos.

謝謝，卡洛斯。

Jorel Guilloty, Goldman Sachs

喬雷爾·吉洛蒂，高盛

Good morning to all of you. So I just wanted to touch upon something that was mentioned earlier, that the current Mexican president announced proposals to the 1 million homes in Mexico. So I was wondering, considering that more than half of your residential demand is from the informal sector. I just wanted to understand how do you think that these proposals could impact your overall residential demand? And how quickly do you think we can see this flow through? That will be my question.

各位早安。所以我只想談談之前提到的事情，墨西哥現任總統宣布了對墨西哥 100 萬戶家庭的提議。所以我想知道，考慮到你們一半以上的住宅需求來自非正規部門。我只是想了解您認為這些提案會如何影響您的整體住宅需求？您認為我們能多快看到這項流程？這將是我的問題。

Lucy --

露西--

I'll start, but please feel free to jump in. You're absolutely right. I mean Claudia Sheinbaum recently announced that she intends to build 1 million homes during her administration. Obviously, that's over a six-year period, but she did say that 167,000 of these homes were expected to be built during 2025. So we certainly think that this should have a positive impact going into next year.

我將開始，但請隨意加入。你是絕對正確的。我的意思是克勞迪婭·謝因鮑姆 (Claudia Sheinbaum) 最近宣布，她打算在其執政期間建造 100 萬套住房。顯然，這已經超過六年了，但她確實表示，預計 2025 年將建造 167,000 套此類房屋。因此，我們當然認為這應該會對明年產生正面影響。

If you look at formal construction, it's from -- coming from the residential sector, it's roughly about 30% of our volumes. So I think that for that 30%, that obviously is a plus and something we'll be considering as we look towards next year and beyond in terms of growth.

如果你看一下正式建築，你會發現它來自住宅領域，大約占我們數量的 30% 左右。因此，我認為對於這 30% 來說，這顯然是一個優勢，也是我們在展望明年及以後的成長時會考慮的因素。

In addition, she's had some important announcements as well in terms of onshoring investments, with over $20 million announced in onshoring as well in the last 2 weeks. And continued focus on her 10 development corridors, which would provide the infrastructure necessary for continued onshoring.

此外，她還在境內投資方面發布了一些重要公告，過去兩週內宣布的境內投資也超過 2,000 萬美元。並繼續關注她的 10 個開發走廊，這將為繼續在岸外包提供必要的基礎設施。

So all in all, I think we're very pleased with the announcements to date. We obviously have to see these come to fruition, and I think 2025 would be the starting point to see that impacting our volumes.

總而言之，我認為我們對迄今為止的公告非常滿意。顯然，我們必須看到這些成果取得成果，我認為 2025 年將是看到這對我們的銷售產生影響的起點。

Thank you, very much.

非常感謝。

We appreciate you joining us today for our third quarter results call, and we hope you'll join us again for our fourth quarter 2024 for webcast on February 6, 2025. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to the Investor Relations team. Many thanks.

感謝您今天參加我們的第三季業績電話會議，我們希望您能再次參加我們於 2025 年 2 月 6 日舉行的 2024 年第四季的網路直播。如果您還有任何其他問題，請隨時聯絡投資者關係團隊。非常感謝。

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. Just conclude the presentation you may now disconnect. Good day.

感謝您參加今天的會議。只需結束演示即可，您現在可以斷開連接。再會。