Loma Negra Reports 2Q23

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA / ACCESSWIRE / August 9, 2023 / Loma Negra, (NYSE:LOMA)(BYMA:LOMA), ("Loma Negra" or the "Company"), the leading cement producer in Argentina, today announced results for the three-month period ended June 30, 2023 (our "2Q23 Results").

2Q23 Key Highlights

• Net sales revenues decreased by 6.5% YoY to Ps. 50,911 million (US$ 206 million), mainly explained by a top line decrease of the Cement and Railroad segments, partially compensated by the good performance of Concrete and Aggregates.
• Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA reached Ps. 11,670 million, decreasing 26.1% YoY in adjusted pesos, while in dollars it reached 63 million, flat from 2Q22.
• The Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA margin stood at 22.9%, contracting 608 basis points YoY from 29.0%.
• Net Profit of Ps. 2,443 million, showing a reduction of 53.0% versus the same period of the previous year, mainly explained by the decrease in the operating result and a higher financial cost.
• During the quarter, the Company announced two dividend payment for the total amount of Ps. 35,900 million, Ps. 61.53 per outstanding share (Ps. 307.64 per ADR).
• The Company issued its Class 2 of domestic bonds in the total principal amount of US$ 71.7 million with maturity in December 2025.
• Net Debt /LTM Adjusted EBITDA ratio of 0.82x compared with 0.37x in FY22.

The Company has presented certain financial figures, Table 1b and Table 11, in U.S. dollars and Pesos without giving effect to IAS 29. The Company has prepared all other financial information herein by applying IAS 29.

Commenting on the financial and operating performance for the second quarter of 2023, Sergio Faifman, Loma Negra's Chief Executive Officer, noted: "I'm very pleased to present our results for the second quarter, where the cements industry showed its resilience, maintaining solid levels of shipments; in a period of scaling uncertainties driven by the upcoming presidential election coupled by a lower level of activity for the economy.

In the first six months of the year, the industry set a record high, while the second quarter, even showing a slight decrease year on year, still shows solid level of shipments.

On the operational and financial side, Loma keeps on delivering robust results which then imply strong value return for our shareholders. In this sense, this quarter we announced two dividend payments, that adding the one we distributed in January, sums the total amount of approximately 120 million dollars, representing a dividend yield of approximately 16%."

Overview of Operations

Sales Volumes

Sales volumes of Cement, masonry, and lime during 2Q23 decreased by 3.6% to 1.6 million tons, mainly explained by a contraction in the bagged cement product of a decrease in the demand of the retail sector, partially compensated by a solid growth in the bulk dispatched mode, underpinned by a solid demand of Concrete mainly from private construction and small-scale public works.

Regarding the volume of the Concrete segment, it showed an increase of 14.8% YoY. The volume of concrete continues the upwards trend. The segment remains as one of the pillars of the growth in bulk cement shipments. The Concrete segment growth was mainly supported by demand from the small and medium scale public works such as urban pavement, and the private sector. On the other side, Aggregates segment showed a decrease of 8.3% YoY, mainly due to temporary operational challenges that affected the dispatches.

The volumes of the Railway segment experienced a contraction of 9.6% compared to the same quarter of 2022, primarily due to a decrease in the transported volumes of fracsand and aggregates. As the harvest was affected by the drought, the availability of trucks for freight in other segments increased, impacting the freight market.

Review of Financial Results

Net Revenues

Net revenue decreased 6.5% to Ps. 50,911 million in 2Q23, from Ps. 54,474 million in the comparable quarter last year, where the good top line performance of Concrete and Aggregates partially offset the decline in Cement and Railroad.

Cement, masonry cement and lime segment was down 12.4% YoY, with volumes contracting 3.6% mainly due to a decline in the bagged cement sales, also affected by softer price dynamics that, even moving with inflation, showed a decrease due to higher monthly inflation figures and the price adjustments timing.

Concrete registered an increase in its topline of 26.6% compared with 2Q22, sustained by a 14.8% increase in volume, coupled with a significant improvement in prices. The Aggregates segment recorded an increase in revenues of 1.8%, supported by a positive price performance that more than compensated the decrease in sales volume of 8.3% YoY.

Railroad revenues decreased 13.4% in 2Q23 compared to the same quarter of 2022, where the transported volume decreased 9.6% in the quarter, affected by the decrease in transported volumes of fracsand and aggregates. The lower volumes of fracsand also affected the average price per ton, as is by far the product with longer average transported distance.

Cost of sales, and Gross profit

Cost of sales decreased 0.9% YoY, reaching Ps. 38,844 million in 2Q23, mainly due to the decrease in sales volumes of the Cement segment and the lower impact of depreciations in the Cement and Railroad segments, partially offset by higher sales volumes in Concrete. Regarding Cement cost of sales, the segment shows a decrease of 3% in per ton basis, was mainly because of lower depreciations and lower incidence of frights and packing and lower electrical energy inputs, partially offset by higher thermal energy and maintenance costs.

Gross Profit registered a decline of 21.1% YoY to Ps. 12,067 million in 2Q23, from Ps. 15,292 million in 2Q22, with a gross profit margin contraction of 437 basis points YoY to 23.7%.

Selling and Administrative Expenses

Selling and administrative expenses (SG&A) in 2Q23 remained almost flat, showing a slight increase of 0.7% YoY to Ps. 4,793 million, from Ps. 4,759 million in 2Q22, mainly due to an increase in salaries and marketing expenses, partially compensated with a decrease in freights, taxes and depreciation. As a percentage of sales, SG&A showed an increase against 2Q22 of 68 basis points, reaching 9.4%.

Adjusted EBITDA & Margin

Adjusted EBITDA decreased 26.1% YoY in the second quarter of 2023 to Ps. 11,670 million from 15,797 million in the same period of the previous year, mainly affected by lower adjusted EBITDA generated by our cement business. The better performance of the Concrete segment compensated the decrease in the EBITDA generation of the other businesses.

Likewise, the Adjusted EBITDA margin contracted 608 basis points to 22.9% compared to 29.0% in 2Q22, mainly due to the compression of the cement margin and the higher incidence in the top line of Concrete and Aggregates, both businesses with lower margins.

In particular, the Adjusted EBITDA margin of the Cement, Masonry and Lime segment contracted 536 bps to 27.1%, mainly due to lower price performance, where these, even while accompanying inflation, show a decrease due to high monthly inflation figures and the timing of price adjustments. This effect was coupled with lower sales volume, primarily in bagged cement, partially offset by a decrease in sales costs and SG&A.

Concrete Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 580 bps, and stood at 2.7%, from negative 3.1% in 2Q22, underpinned by good performance in price and volumes, partially offset by the increase in costs, mainly impacted by aggregates and freights.

The Adjusted EBITDA margin of Aggregates contracted to 5.3%, from 9.7% in 2Q22, mainly due to lower volumes product of punctual operational issues that affected a better dilution of fixed costs offset by good price performance.

Finally, the Adjusted EBITDA margin of the Railroad segment contracted 262 bps to 0.8% in the second quarter, from 3.4% in 2Q22, principally affected by top line performance, which was negatively impacted by the mix of transported volumes, where the decrease in fracsand impacted the average transported distance.

Finance Costs-Net

During 2Q23, the Company reported a total net financial cost of Ps. 3.0 billion compared to a total net financial cost of Ps. 0.7 billion in 2Q22, mainly due to the increase of the net financial expense product of the increase of the debt position, coupled with the negative impact of the exchange rate differences. These variations were partially compensated by the positive effect of the net monetary position.

Net Profit and Net Profit Attributable to Owners of the Company

Net Gain of Ps. 2,443 million in 2Q23 compared to a Net Gain of Ps. 5,203 million in the same period of the previous year, where the lower operational result and the higher financial cost was partially compensated by positive income tax effect.

Net Gain Attributable to Owners of the Company stood at Ps. 2,544 million. During the quarter, the Company reported a gain per common share of Ps. 4.3606 and an ADR gain of Ps. 21.8031, compared to earnings per common share of Ps. 9.1657 and earnings per ADR of Ps. 45.8287 in 2Q23.

Capitalization

As of June 30, 2023, total Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Investments were Ps. 24,093 million compared with Ps. 28,658 million as of June 30, 2022. Total debt at the close of the quarter stood at Ps. 71,743 million, composed by Ps. 22,946 million in short-term borrowings, including the current portion of long-term borrowings (or 32% of total borrowings), and Ps. 48,797 million in long-term borrowings (or 68% of total borrowings). In the quarter the company issued a domestic bond in the total principal amount of US$ 71.7 million with maturity in 4Q25.

At the close of the second quarter of 2023, 53% (or Ps. 37,991 million) of Loma Negra's total debt was denominated in U.S. dollars (and a not material amount in Euros), and 47% (or Ps. 33,752 million) was in Pesos. The average duration of Loma Negra's total debt was 1.3 years.

As of June 30, 2023, 74.4% of the Company's consolidated loans accrued interest at a variable rate. The debt denominated in dollars with rates based on Libor and SOFR, while the portion in Argentine pesos principally accrued interest based on BADLAR. The remaining 24% accrues interest at a fixed rate in foreign currency.

The Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA (LTM) ratio increased to 0.82x as of June 30, 2023, from 0.37x as of December 31, 2022, as a result of an increase in the debt position.

Cash Flows

In 2Q23, our operating cash generation stood at Ps. 11,884 million, compared to Ps. 3,136 million in the same period of the previous year, where the increase in the net profit adjusted to reconcile to net cash provided by operating activities partially coupled with a positive effect of the changes in operating assets and liabilities explain the positive variation against 2Q22.

During 2Q23, the Company used cash in financing activities for Ps. 5,376 million, mainly due to the payment of dividends, partially compensated by the issuance of the Class 2 bond and the net proceeds from borrowings. Regarding cash used in investing activities, the Company used a total of Ps. 3,105 million, mainly due to maintenance capex.

Dividends Distribution

On May 2, 2023, the Board of Directors approved the partial withdraw of the Reserve for Future Dividends in the amount of Ps. 22,200 million and to distribute dividends in kind as follows: 25,590,778,098 National Treasury Bills of the Argentine Republic in Pesos at a discount maturing on July 30, 2023 ("LEDE" S30J3 - ISIN ARARGE520D98), at a ratio of 43.86 Treasury Bills per outstanding share (219.29 Treasury Bills per ADR).

On June 23, 2023, the Board of Directors approved the payment of dividends for a total amount of Ps. 13,700 million, equivalent to Ps. 23.47968399176 per outstanding share (Ps. 117.3984199588 per ADS), through the partially withdraw of funds from the Reserve for Future Dividends. The total amount was distributed in cash in July 2023.

Domestic Bond Issuance

On June 21, 2023, the Company issued its Class 2 of domestic bonds in the total principal amount of US$ 71.7 million. Terms of the issue are as outlined below.

2Q23 Earnings Conference Call

When: 10:00 a.m. U.S. ET (11:00 a.m. BAT), August 10, 2023
Dial-in: 0800-444-2930 (Argentina), 1-833-255-2824 (U.S.), 1-866-605-3852 (Canada), 1-412-902-6701 (International)
Password: Loma Negra Call
Webcast: https://event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=7hNSKCnv

Replay: A telephone replay of the conference call will be available until August 17, 2023. The replay can be accessed by dialing 1-877-344-7529 (U.S. toll free), or 1-412-317-0088 (International). The passcode for the replay is 9070530. The audio of the conference call will also be archived on the Company's website at www.lomanegra.com

Definitions

Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as net profit plus financial interest, net plus income tax expense plus depreciation and amortization plus exchange rate differences plus other financial expenses, net plus tax on debits and credits to bank accounts, plus share of loss of associates, plus net Impairment of Property, plant and equipment, and less income from discontinued operation. Loma Negra believes that excluding tax on debits and credits to bank accounts from its calculation of Adjusted EBITDA is a better measure of operating performance when compared to other international players.

Net Debt is calculated as borrowings less cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.

About Loma Negra

Founded in 1926, Loma Negra is the leading cement company in Argentina, producing and distributing cement, masonry cement, aggregates, concrete and lime, products primarily used in private and public construction. Loma Negra is a vertically-integrated cement and concrete company, with nationwide operations, supported by vast limestone reserves, strategically located plants, top-of-mind brands and established distribution channels. Loma Negra is listed both on BYMA and on NYSE in the U.S., where it trades under the symbol "LOMA". One ADS represents five (5) common shares. For more information, visit www.lomanegra.com.

Note

The Company presented some figures converted from Pesos to U.S. dollars for comparison purposes. The exchange rate used to convert Pesos to U.S. dollars was the reference exchange rate (Communication "A" 3500) reported by the Central Bank for U.S. dollars. The information presented in U.S. dollars is for the convenience of the reader only. Certain figures included in this report have been subject to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, figures shown as totals in certain tables may not be arithmetic aggregations of the figures presented in previous quarters.

Rounding: We have made rounding adjustments to reach some of the figures included in this annual report. As a result, numerical figures shown as totals in some tables may not be an arithmetic aggregation of the figures that preceded them.

Disclaimer
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities law that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements are only predictions based upon our current expectations and projections about possible or assumed future results of our business, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, plans and objectives. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "believe," "may," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "plan," "expect," "predict," "potential," "seek," "forecast," or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements are based on the information currently available to us. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, among others things: changes in general economic, political, governmental and business conditions globally and in Argentina, changes in inflation rates, fluctuations in the exchange rate of the peso, the level of construction generally, changes in cement demand and prices, changes in raw material and energy prices, changes in business strategy and various other factors. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although we believe in good faith that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or will occur. Any or all of Loma Negra's forward-looking statements in this release may turn out to be wrong. You should consider these forward-looking statements in light of other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 31, 2017 in connection with Loma Negra's initial public offering. Therefore, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations.

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SOURCE: Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad