CX - Cemex posts surging earnings as demand recovers across markets

Cemex ([[CX]] +3.5%) opens higher after easily beating Q1 earnings and revenue expectations, as demand recovers across most of its markets.Q1 net profit totaled $665M, or $0.42/share, compared with $42M, or $0.01/share in the year-ago quarter, as sales rose 11% to $3.4B, with higher cement sales by volume in most regions and higher prices in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America.Q1 cement sales by volume rose 9% Y/Y to 15.2M metric tons, which the company says was its best Q1 result since 2008.Q1 EBITDA increased 28% Y/Y to $684M vs. $590M analyst consensus, and operating earnings rose by half to $406M, including gains from asset sales.Net debt plus perpetual notes fell to $9.6B, lowering the company's net debt-to-EBITDA ratio to 3.6x from 4.1x in December.Cemex also raised its full-year EBITDA estimate to $2.9B from its previous outlook of $2.7B, while raising its expected capital spending to $1.3B from $1.1B.

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Cemex posts surging earnings as demand recovers across markets