Re: |
Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima Form 20-F for the year ended December 31,
2021 Filed April 29, 2022 File No. 1-38262
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1.
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We note you own significant limestone reserves supporting your vertically-integrated concrete and cement business. Please file
technical report summaries for your material resource/reserve properties that conforms to Item 601(b)(96) of Regulation S-K as required by Item 1302(b).
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The Company is, and historically has been, dedicated to the production and distribution of cement, masonry cement, aggregates, concrete and lime, which
are products used in private and public construction. Although the Company is vertically integrated and is supported by its own limestone reserves, the Company’s core business is manufacturing and distributing these finished products, and
not the exploration, development or extraction of minerals.
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The cost of limestone production as a percentage of total cost of sales is immaterial. For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2016, it represented
only 4.4% and 4.5%, respectively.
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The Company currently owns and operates six open-pit quarries in Argentina from which limestone can be extracted. At the time of the IPO, the Company
also owned and operated an additional limestone quarry in Paraguay. For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2016, mostly all of the Company’s limestone was sourced from its own quarries. As of December 31, 2021 and 2016, the book value of
the assets of these total limestone reserves was not material, representing less than 5% of total assets. Specifically, as of December 31, 2021, assets of total limestone reserves represented ARS$5.0 billion, or 4.8% of the Company’s total
consolidated assets of the Company, which were ARS$104.9 billion, and as of December 31, 2016, assets of total limestone reserves represented ARS$0.4 billion, or 4.8% of the Company’s total consolidated assets of the Company, which were
ARS$9.0 billion, respectively.
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As of December 31, 2021 and 2016, the Company’s total limestone reserves were 1,091 million tons and 852.9 million tons, respectively. While limestone
reserves have grown over time, the growth has been consistent with that of the Company’s installed cement capacity and installed clinker capacity, which were 12.3 million tons and 7.3 million tons for the year ended December 31, 2021,
compared to 9.9 million and 5.5 million tons for the year ended December 31, 2016. Additionally, the Company’s annualized limestone production has not materially changed since the IPO, and, in fact, has decreased slightly from 2016 to 2021.
For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2016, the Company’s total annualized limestone production at the Company’s quarries was 7.8 million tons and 8.3 million tons, respectively. The Company does not resell any of its excess produced
limestone to third parties.
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2.
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We note your production facility overview in this section. Summary disclosure includes the separate disclosure of all properties,
which includes both your material and non¬material properties pursuant to Item 1303(a) of Regulation S-K. Please revise this section of your filing to include all the required information under Item 1303(b) of Regulation S- K for all your
properties.
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3.
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We note your individual property disclosure for your material properties is missing from your filing. Please modify your filing to
comply with See Item 1304(b) of Regulation S- K.
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4.
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Given the significance of energy costs on your results of operation, please revise future disclosures to quantify the impact that
fluctuating energy costs had on your cost of sales separately from the volume impacts. Additionally, to the extent that you experience materially fluctuating freight costs, please enhance future disclosures to provide information to allow a
reader to understand the impact changes in freight costs had versus increased volumes.
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5.
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Your risk factor disclosure on page 15 discusses the expectation of higher energy and freight prices and the potential for energy
shortages. In future filings, please discuss whether these concerns materially affect your outlook or business goals. Specify whether these challenges have materially impacted your results of operations or capital resources and quantify, to
the extent possible, how your sales, profits, and/or liquidity have been impacted. Please discuss known trends or uncertainties resulting from mitigation efforts undertaken, if any. Finally, please explain whether any mitigation efforts
introduce new material risks, including those related to product quality, reliability, or regulatory approval of products.
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