CEMEX Provides Guidance for the Third Quarter of 2002.

Business Editors

MONTERREY, Mexico--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 2002

CEMEX, S.A. de C.V. (NYSE: CX) announced today that it expects EBITDA for the quarter ending September 30, 2002 to reach approximately US$520 million versus US$562 million for the third quarter of 2001.

The lower EBITDA is mainly due to the weaker currencies in Mexico and Venezuela versus same period last year, as well as ongoing expenses in IT and in our CEMEX Way effort aimed to standardize our business processes worldwide. Net sales are expected to be flat versus the same period a year ago, at about US$1.77 billion.

Domestic gray cement volumes for CEMEX's operations in Mexico are expected to grow by about 7% during the third quarter versus the same period a year ago. Cement consumption is being driven mainly by infrastructure spending, while the self-construction sector remains stable. Ready mix volumes are expected to grow by about 14% for the quarter versus the same period a year ago.

Volumes for CEMEX's United States operations are expected to decline by about 3% during the quarter versus the same quarter of 2001. Volumes are off primarily due to lower industry sales in some of our markets and a delay in execution of infrastructure projects.

In Spain, CEMEX expects a significantly better cash flow contribution versus the third quarter of 2001. This is primarily due to a more favorable pricing environment together with moderate demand growth of 1% which is being supported by both the residential and public works sectors which remain strong as Spain's economy continues to grow faster than the European average.

During the quarter CEMEX successfully closed the acquisition of Puerto Rican Cement Company and therefore is consolidating its operations beginning on August 1st 2002.

Cash Earnings for the third quarter are expected to be 6% lower than the US$421 million of the same period last year. Majority net income for the third quarter is expected to be significantly lower than the same period of last year. This is due mainly to non-cash items such as the negative mark-to-market resulting from interest rate derivatives that swap a significant portion of our floating rate debt into fixed, while US dollar treasury bond market yields continued to decline during the quarter.

Rodrigo Trevino, CEMEX Chief Financial Officer said "Given the challenging global operating climate, we are satisfied with the performance of our cement and ready mix core businesses. We are encouraged by the stronger than expected turnaround in cement and ready mix demand in our Mexican market. In the United States, we are cautiously optimistic by the moderate year to date increase in contract awards for transportation works nationwide as this should support cement demand in the quarters ahead.

We are confident that our continuous improvement efforts, which have affected our results this year, will translate into productivity gains in 2003 and beyond."

CEMEX is a leading global producer and marketer of cement and ready-mix products, with operations concentrated in the world's most dynamic cement markets across four continents. CEMEX combines a deep knowledge of the local markets with its global network and information technology systems to provide world-class products and services to its customers, from individual homebuilders to large industrial contractors. For more information, visit www.cemex.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements and information that are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of CEMEX to be materially different from those expressed or implied in this release, including, among others, changes in general economic, political, governmental and business conditions globally and in the countries in which CEMEX does business, changes in interest rates, changes in inflation rates, changes in exchange rates, the level of construction generally, changes in cement demand and prices, changes in raw material and energy prices, changes in business strategy and various other factors. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein.

EBITDA is defined as operating income plus depreciation and amortization. Cash earnings is defined as EBITDA minus net financial expenses, cash taxes (including statutory profit sharing), income attributable to minority interest (including preferred dividends) and other cash expenses. All of these items are presented under Mexican generally accepted accounting principles.