Holcim Philippines expects to achieve growth of 5-6 per cent this year, chief operations officer Roland van Wijen has said, following a challenging 2011.

Last year the company reported a 47.1 per cent decline in net profit from PHP3.84bn to PHP21.62bn due to weak demand and higher production costs. Sales, meanwhile, dropped nine per cent to PHP21.62bn.

Speaking to the Philippine Star, Van Wijen said:  “Last year was a challenging year for us because the reduced government spending meant there was less structure built, which has a direct correlation to cement consumption. Also, the (operational cost) has been increasing which had a marked effect on our bottomline. Those are the elements we are recovering from,” Van Wijnen said in an interview on the sidelines of the launch of its new CSR project.

The company is now cutting production costs by increasing its use of alternative fuels. Van Wijen said that for this year, the company’s growth would be driven by more projects that would be approved under the government’s Public-Private Partnership scheme whereby the company is pursuing opportunities for supplying winning bidders in the PPP projects.

Van Wijnen said the company is optimistic that both the government and the private sector would increase infrastructure spending this year.

“What I see right now is that in the fourth quarter, government spending has increased...The private sector has remained very strong also in 2011 and we see no signs of that changing so far,” he said.

In January, Holcim reopened its cement plant in Calaca,  Batangas to take advantage of an anticipated surge in demand for new buildings and infrastructure in Metro Luzon. “We are finalising our new plans for expansion and have already laid out plans for 2020 and beyond to make sure that the market is supplied with our products,” Van Wijnen said.

Holcim Philippines yesterday launched its new CSR project dubbed as: Sagot Ko ang Bukas. On 24 May, 1700 of its employees will participate in community service programmes in its host communities in La Union, Bulacan, Misamis Oriental and Davao. The activities will include the clean up of waterways as well as educational and environmental activities for host communities such as tree planting activities and waste management. (Source: The Philippine Star)