By Kylie Madry
MEXICO CITY, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Mexican cement maker Cemex reported on Thursday a 16% climb in fourth-quarter core earnings, supported by cost-cutting measures and higher product prices, though results fell short of analysts' estimates.
The firm's core earnings, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), rose to $781 million, landing below the estimate of $795 million from analysts polled by LSEG.
Cemex said both operating expenses and cost of sales fell
year-on-year, reflecting CEO Jaime Muguiro's strategy to focus on core businesses and return capital to shareholders.
The company's board proposed a dividend 40% higher than the $130 million payout from last year, and announced a $500-million share buyback programme over the next three years.
As part of the restructuring plan, Cemex reduced its workforce by 10% in the fourth quarter compared with the year-ago period.
These layoffs were accompanied by $48 million in severance costs, as well as charges related to the sale of Cemex's Panama unit and write-downs of certain past acquisitions and assets.
These factors pushed Cemex into a net loss for the quarter, reversing gains from the same period last year and falling short of analysts' estimates of a $246.67 million net profit, according to LSEG-compiled data.
Despite the one-off charges, quarterly sales rose 11% to $4.18 billion, exceeding estimates, with Cemex attributing the increase to stronger performance in Mexico and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region.
Cemex has sought to shed non-core assets and focus more on its aggregates business in the United States, with executives flagging more divestitures in the works in recent quarters.
(Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
