Higher prices ensure Holcim Philippines receives better 9M19 earnings

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Holcim Philippines Inc said EBITDA almost doubled in the 9M19 to PHP1.2bn (US$23.4m) on cost improvements across all its operations coupled with better prices of cement and aggregates.

Net income for the third quarter surged to PHP457.2m from PHP176.9m in the same period of the previous year. However, sales volumes were still lower than the third quarter of 2018 despite improved pricing resulting in lower net sales of PHP8.3bn from PHP8.5bn in the same period last year.

Holcim Philippines sales have reached PHP23.7bn in the January-September 2019 period when compared with PHP27.3bn in the year-ago period.

The firm said: "Cement demand has started to pick up in the third quarter as government resumed its infrastructure spending."

Operating EBITDA rose 23.4 per cent to PHP4.2bn helped by the strong performance of aggregates, which grew by 38 per cent on better prices despite lower volumes caused by the public construction slowdown. Net income grew by eight per cent to PHP1.9bn.

"Our earnings improvement continues in the third quarter resulting in strong growth in the first nine months of the year despite lower sales revenues," said Holcim Philippines President and CEO, John Stull.

He added, "our intensified focus on cost and operational efficiency across all our operations has allowed us to sustain high performance levels amidst a still muted market environment. We have seen better pricing and a favourable product mix."