MEXICO CITY—Mexican cement giant Cemex SAB said Wednesday it has refinanced $4 billion in short-term debt to help it weather a sharp downturn in construction due to the global financial crisis.
Also hurt by currency fluctuations and credit tightening, the world’s third-largest cement company has struggled to reduce its $16.3 billion debt burden, much of which was taken on when the company acquired Australia’s Rinker Group Ltd. in 2007.
The company said in a statement it had refinanced $2.3 billion for February 2011. The payments were originally due this year and in early 2010.
It also extended to December 2010 $1.7 billion of the $3 billion tied to its Rinker acquisition that was due at the end of this year.
At midmorning, Cemex’s stock was up 3.2 percent to $8.70 a share on the news.
The company’s announcement came a day before it is expected to announce its fourth-quarter earnings for 2008.
The company has forecast $4.45 billion in sales during the last three months of the year, a 23 percent drop from the year-earlier period.
Rodrigo Trevino, the company’s chief financial officer, said the announcement “demonstrates the health of Cemex’s business model, and it is evidence of the support of our banks.”
