Vitro S.A.B. de CV, one of the world's largest producers & distributors of glass products, announced unaudited results for the 2Q 2008 on 24 July 2008. Year-on-year consolidated sales rose 14.5% while EBITDA declined 15.6%. The consolidated EBITDA margin dropped to 11.7% from 15.8% in the same period of 2007, following a 45% increase in natural gas prices. Commenting on the results for the quarter, Enrique Osorio, chief financial officer, said "Our business fundamentals remain strong. Demand rose in most segments of our business. On a comparable basis, sales for the quarter reached an all-time high of US$ 725M. Higher energy costs, however, impacted EBITDA for the quarter. But, overall we are confident in the health of the business as we look ahead". David González, president of the Glass Containers business unit, said, "This was another excellent quarter for containers. We posted record comparable sales driven by strong volume increases across the board. Domestic sales were up more than 22% year-on-year, and export sales rose almost 12%, including those to the US market, proving again that this is a fairly defensive business to economic downturns. Foreign subsidiaries also were strong with sales growth of almost 22%".
