Context: How Bolsa Mexicana de Valores works, and what it makes issuers disclose · Mexico on the LatAm Power Map
A cattle-ranching family from Chihuahua turned a brick kiln into North America’s largest maker of glazed ceramic floor tile. Nearly half a century later, that same family has just taken the company back off the stock market.
| Key Facts | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Internacional de Cerámica, S.A.B. de C.V. |
| Ticker / exchange | CERAMICB · Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV) |
| Headquarters | Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico |
| Sector | Industrials — Building Products & Equipment |
| Employees | 5,266 |
| Market value (market cap) | MXN 13.5bn · USD 781.8M (our calculation) |
| Yearly sales (revenue, TTM) | MXN 11.3bn · USD 650.5M (our calculation) |
| Net profit (TTM) | MXN ~171M · USD ~9.9M (our calculation) |
| Net margin (TTM) | 1.52% |
| Return on equity (ROE) | 5.6% |
| Price-to-earnings (P/E) | 29.1× |
| Dividend yield | None currently paid |
| Website | interceramic.com |
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What it is
Interceramic makes and sells glazed ceramic and porcelain floor and wall tiles, natural stone, bathroom furniture — vanities, sinks, tubs — and the adhesives and grouts that go with them, distributing through more than 400 company stores in Mexico and independent networks across the United States, Canada, Central America, and Asia. It runs seven production complexes: six around Chihuahua and one in Garland, Texas.
The company claims to be the largest manufacturer of glazed floor tile in North America, a title it has held for decades and defends through scale, proprietary clay mines, and a franchise retail network that puts its brand directly in front of Mexican homeowners.
Who owns it
The parent of Interceramic USA, Internacional de Cerámica, was founded in Chihuahua in 1978 by Oscar Almeida and his family. Insiders hold about 46.5% of the shares on record, with institutional investors at roughly 3.1% and the remainder as free float — though that picture is shifting fast.
In February 2025, the company completed a nearly USD 640 million refinancing to repay the bridge loan used to take the company private and buy out certain shareholders in a public share acquisition completed in June 2024. PGIM’s private credit platform described the deal as assisting “the Almeida family in taking Interceramic private.” The Almeidas are, in effect, consolidating a company they never truly ceded.
Who runs it
Oscar’s son, Víctor Almeida, is Chief Executive Officer and President of both the Mexican parent and the US subsidiary. León Lugo serves as CFO.
Like most Mexican family enterprises, Interceramic has always been a traditional family business, with Víctor Almeida in charge.
The money, in plain words
The years tell two different stories. In 2022, Interceramic sold MXN 14.0bn (USD 808M, our calculation) worth of tile and kept MXN 811M (USD 46.8M, our calculation) as profit — a net profit margin of 5.8%, healthy for a building-materials manufacturer.
Then 2023 arrived: sales fell sharply, and by the trailing twelve months the net margin had compressed to just 1.52%, meaning the company now keeps about 1.5 pesos of every 100 pesos of sales — thin.
Return on equity — how hard owners’ capital is working — stands at 5.6%, modest and well below the company’s own recent peak. At a price-to-earnings ratio of 29×, the market is paying a growth-company price for what are, right now, near-breakeven returns; that bet only makes sense if margins recover.
The company held MXN 2.0bn (USD 115.8M, our calculation) in cash at end-2023 with no short-term debt disclosed, giving it a meaningful liquidity cushion — though the USD 640M refinancing has since added substantial long-term debt to the balance sheet.
What it is doing now
On 26 February 2025, Interceramic completed a USD 640 million refinancing, fully repaying the bridge loan that had funded the June 2024 buyout of public shareholders. The new structure blends a USD 320 million US private placement, a USD 183 million dual-currency senior secured term loan and revolving credit facility, and a USD 135 million subordinated debt tranche.
The company is now, effectively, private — held by the Almeida family and its long-term lenders, with the CERAMICB ticker a vestige of its listed past.
What to watch
- Margin recovery. The compression from a 5.8% net margin in 2022 to 1.5% today is the central question. Mexico’s housing cycle and US construction demand are the main levers; watch both.
- Debt service. A USD 640 million debt load at a company generating roughly USD 10 million of net profit today is demanding. Free cash flow — what remains after running the factories — matters far more than headline profit right now.
- Re-listing or staying private. The Almeida family may eventually seek a fresh listing at a higher valuation once margins recover; equally, they may prefer the freedom of private ownership. Either path carries different risks for any remaining public bondholders.
- Nearshoring tailwind. Mexico’s construction sector is absorbing industrial and commercial investment as manufacturers relocate supply chains closer to the US. Interceramic’s position in both markets is a potential structural advantage.
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Sources
- Interceramic USA — Company History (company site)
- PGIM Private Capital — Arranging Interceramic’s Landmark Private Placement and Subordinated Debt (primary lender announcement, April 2025)
- Access Newswire — Interceramic Successfully Completes USD 640 Million Take-Out Financing (company press release, March 2025)
- BBVA CIB — Interceramic closes USD 665 million syndicated loan
- Roic.ai — CERAMICB.MX overview
- EMIS — Internacional De Ceramica company profile
- Market data: EODHD.
This is news, not investment advice.
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