MONTERREY, Mexico, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Mexican cement producer Cemex on Wednesday reported a third-quarter net loss of $1.54 billion, hurt by impairments and despite a rise in sales after pandemic-linked lockdowns hit the second quarter. The company, which operates in more than 50 countries, said the loss was due to a $1.5 billion non-cash impairment of goodwill and idle assets, and higher financial expenses. It flagged the impairment earlier this month, which included $1.02 billion in goodwill linked to its U.S. operations. Despite the loss, Chief Executive Fernando Gonzalez said in a statement he was “pleased with our performance in the third quarter in which all regions participated in earnings recovery.”