*International credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has raised its long-term global scale issuer credit ratings on Mexican cement giant Cemex to ‘BBB-‘ from ‘BB+’, returning the firm to investment-grade territory. In a statement, S&P notes that over the years, the company has “maintained its commitment to deleveraging its capital structure and improving debt protection metrics in pursuit of returning the rating to investment-grade level”. For 2024-2025, S&P expects Cemex to “maintain its strategic priorities, with room to further strengthen its key credit metrics”. S&P considers these priorities to include “growing its EBITDA through margin expansion and tuck-in growth investments, further optimising its portfolio for growth opportunities, and moving forward with its sustainability agenda, among others”. S&P expects Cemex’s revenues to grow close to 4% in 2024 and 6% in 2025, driven by a mix of volume growth in key markets and price increases at least at inflation levels in both years, with the goal to increase margins.
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