Cement manufacturer Holcim Philippines Inc. said Monday net income stood flat at P1.5 billion in the first quarter, as revenues climbed 17 percent from a year ago.
Holcim said in a regulatory filing revenues in the January-March period hit P10.1 billion, up from P8.6 billion in the same period last year, led by robust construction activities.
Production cost grew faster at 23 percent in the first three months, driven by the scheduled plant maintenance activities and higher consumption of imported clinked and demand to support the volume growth.
Cement industry demand grew 12 percent in the first quarter, on sustained rollout of private sector projects and higher state spending for infrastructure.
Holcim Philippines president and country chief executive Eduardo Sahagun said the company’s first-quarter performance was due to its ability to make supply available in the market on time and strong regional presence.
“Moving forward, we are cautiously optimistic as we await the results of the coming elections. Hopefully, the focus on infrastructure remains, as this is much needed by the country to sustain its development,” Sahagun said.
Holcim Philippines earlier said it would spend $40 million to debottleneck existing cement plants, which would boost capacity to 10 million metric tons by 2016 to 2017.
The company currently operates four cement plants in La Union, Bulacan, Misamis Oriental and Davao and several ready-mix concrete plants nationwide.
The government allocated P760 billion for infrastructure spending this year, which is equivalent to 5 percent of GDP.
Holcim Philippines’ financial position remained healthy with very liquid cash position and strong assets utilization ratio, as it continues to generate high revenues.
Total assets stood at P36.1 billion, up by P2 billion from end-2015 largely due to the cash generated from its operations.
Share price of Holcim Philippines on Monday gained P0.16 per share, bucking the market’s decline to close at P14.20.
