CEMEX statement in light of current market conditionsIn light of the current extraordinary market conditions, CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: CX) would like to take this opportunity to assure the market that our business model continues to be intact and the capital structure of the company remains unchanged. We wish to reaffirm to the market that we have slightly exceeded our guidance for third quarter and that we remain in compliance at the end of the third quarter with our financial covenant test. As of September 30th, 2008, our net debt to EBITDA ratio was reduced to 3.4:1, due to a significant reduction in net debt during the quarter from about US$17.6 billion to about US$16.4 billion.
With regard to our derivatives strategy, we continue to employ derivatives only to execute our financing plan and to partially hedge our capital investment in our foreign subsidiaries. The mark to market of our derivatives position as of September 30th, 2008 was a positive US$100 million for all of our derivatives including our perpetual securities. This represents a US$400 million decline from the date of our mid quarter guidance on September 11th, 2008. The decline from September 11th, 2008 is primarily explained by the realization of close to US$300 million in gains in our capital hedge program which was used primarily to reduce net debt. Currently, and as a result of the recent high volatility in the foreign exchange and equity capital markets, the aggregate mark to market is approximately negative US$500 million (including our perpetual securities). We continue to have cash on hand to meet all of our operational and financial requirements. We will be addressing all of these issues in more detail in our third quarter conference call on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008.
CEMEX is a growing global building materials company that provides high quality products and reliable service to customers and communities in more than 50 countries throughout the world. CEMEX has a rich history of improving the well-being of those it serves through its efforts to pursue innovative industry solutions and efficiency advancements and to promote a sustainable future. For more information, visit www.cemex.com.
