Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc. said Friday it posted a net loss of P528 million in the second quarter, a turnaround from the P598-million net income in the same period last year.
CHP in a disclosure to the stock exchange attributed the net loss to foreign exchange losses, higher income tax expense and lower sales volume.
Net sales in the second quarter, which is seasonally the strongest quarter for cement firms, decreased 5 percent to P5.43 billion from P5.69 billion in the same quarter last year. The decline was primarily due to 11-percent drop in domestic cement volume and lower-than-expected demand during the national elections.
Domestic cement prices went up 9 percent in the second quarter on higher input cost. “We believe the Philippine economy will continue to recover in the months to come, despite current challenges. Like many, we are dealing with significant inflationary pressures to input costs such as energy and transport. We will remain focused on executing our strategies, managing the variables that we can control,” CHP president and chief executive Luis Franco said.