Holcim Philippines forecasts 8-10% volume growth

The head of Holcim Philippines CEO, Eduardo A Sahagun expects the local cement industry to sustain its bullish run this year with sales volume seen growing by as much as 8-10 per cent. This was on the back of increased infrastructure spending by the government and the continuing construction activities of the private sector, said Mr Sahagun.  

The growth was attributed to higher public spending and the continued confidence of the private sector in the economy.

In an interview with the Inquirer, Mr Sahagun said that for this year alone, the public works budget was about PHP800bn (US$173m), equivalent to about five per cent of the country's GDP. The private sector has also been actively pursuing new developments not only in Metro Manila but also in other key growth areas in the country, including Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, and Bacolod. He added the private sector usually accounted for some 60 per cent of the total cement sales, while the balance is taken up by the government.

Holcim Philippines' optimism is strengthened the presidential candidates' expression of support for higher infrastructure spending.  

Last year, local cement manufacturers sold 24.36Mt, 14.3 per cent higher than year-ago level. In 2015 the company sold more than 200m bags of cement, up from 186m bags of 40kg each a year ago. This enabled the company to capture a 32-34 per cent domestic market share.

For Holcim Philippines, however, Mr Sahagun declined to cite projections with the nearing release of the company's earnings report later this month. At present, Holcim's cement facilities in the country has about 8Mta in capacity, equivalent to total production of about 220m bags a year.