UPDATE 1-Steel producer Ternium eyes $600 million capex this year
(Adds executives comments on Mexican industry)
MEXICO CITY, April 27 (Reuters) - Steel producer Ternium expects its 2022 capex to reach $600 million, Chief Financial Officer Pablo Brizzio said in a call with analysts to discuss first quarter results on Wednesday.
The investments will be used to boost production in its plants, especially in Mexico, which accounted for 53% of steel shipments in the first quarter of 2022.
Asked about the impact of legislative changes in Mexico's energy industry, Brizzio said he does not expect a lot of investments in Mexico from Ternium and other firms until the legal framework is clarified.
Ternium reported on Tuesday a first-quarter net income of $877.5 million, up 24% from the year-ago period.
Brizzio and chief executive Maximo Vedoya forecast more market volatility during the rest of the year, as the war between Russia and Ukraine drags on and a strict lockdown in China to contain the spread of COVID-19 hurts the globe's second largest economy. (Reporting by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Daina Beth Solomon and Chizu Nomiyama)
