Strong dollar may delay higher debt rating for Cemex

As reported by Reuters, the chief executive of Mexico's Cemex has said that the strength of the US dollar may delay the ability of the company to win back an investment grade debt rating.

Cemex are currently burdened with a heavy debt load from its 2007 acquisition of Australia's Rinker. The company has been focusing on reducing debt in a bid to regain an investment-grade rating by 2018.

"The question now is what to expect with respect to the strength of the dollar. If it stays like this, then getting our investment grade will be displaced for one or two years more," CEO Fernando Gonzalez told reporters at an event in Mexico City.

Cemex currently operates in 50 countries and much of its income is in currencies that have dropped against the dollar this year, cutting into revenue that is reported in the US currency.

Gonzalez also said that the company was interested in entering the Cuban market. Cemex is the biggest cement supplier in the Caribbean.

Edited from source by Joseph Green. Source: Reuters

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