Gruma obtained a loan for 125 million dollars that it will use to refinance its liabilities. The loan was granted by The Bank of Nova Scotia for a term of five years, with a rate of SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate, which is the interest rate of the New York FED), plus a surcharge of 100 basis points, payable in a single installment at maturity.
“This refinancing allows Gruma to improve the cost conditions of its debt, as well as its maturity profile,” said the Mexican company in a statement sent to the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV).
The company, with a presence in more than 100 countries in America, Europe, Asia and Oceania, announced at the end of July that it had received a five-year line of credit for some 150 million dollars that it would use for general corporate purposes.
In the second quarter of the year, Gruma’s debt rose 4% to 1,713 million dollars, compared to the first quarter, due to working capital financing. Compared to the same quarter last year, the increase is 14%.
In its financial statement, the company reported that approximately 64% of its debt was denominated in dollars.
The company, which for months has been facing the rise in raw materials after the start of the conflict in Russia and Ukraine, reported in the second quarter a 21% increase in cost of sales, to 872.1 million dollars, as a result of the inflationary impact on raw materials, an increase in labor costs, mainly in the United States, and higher sales volume. As a percentage of net sales, cost of sales went from 64% to 65.2%.
The production company’s sales increased 19% to 1,337 million dollars in the period, from 1,128 million dollars in the same period of 2021.
Sales volume rose 2% to 1,078 thousand metric tons, driven by the division in the United States. This trend prompted the Mexican company to allocate 67 million dollars to expand its installed capacity in that market.
Gruma told an investor conference in July that in the second half of the year it will keep its focus on containing the impact of high corn prices.
