Strong demand for cement boosted Holcim net income

LEADING cement maker Holcim Philippines Inc. expects to continue growing at a healthy pace as sales are boosted by the expected increase private and public sector construction spending.

On Tuesday, Holcim, which has over 1,800 employees in the Philippines, posted a net income of P3.627 billion for 2012, up from P2.029 billion the year before.

“Strong construction activity in both public and private sectors drove the growth,” Holcim said in a statement. The company cited data from the Cement Manufacturers Association, which said demand rose 18 percent in 2012—the highest in 15 years.

Holcim, for its part, said sales rose 21 percent in 2012, improving from a contraction of 5 percent the year before. Revenues grew by over a quarter year-on-year to P27.16 billion.

“We strongly benefited from the rebound in public infrastructure spending and the private sector’s continuing participation in construction across the country,” Holcim CEO Eduardo Sahagun said.

“Then we were able to fully capture the opportunities coming from such growth affirms our capability as a team, and validates the soundness of our business,” he said.

Public sector construction spending rose 32.4 percent in 2012, while private sector construction rose 8.6 percent, boosting sales for Holcim, the country’s largest cement manufacturer.

Sahagun said he was optimistic that robust construction activities would continue well into 2013, with work on long-awaited publicprivate partnership (PPP) projects expected to finally begin.

“The added continued growth of the outsourcing industry and OFW (overseas Filipino remittances) plus strong macroeconomic indicators such as low and stable inflation and interest rates will fuel Holcim this year,” Sahagun said.

He said the industry expects growth to reach between 6 and 10 percent this year. “We’re always trying to be better than the rest of the industry,” he said.

To support the company’s growth and ensure ample supply, Holcim said it would invest in existing facilities, staring with the reopening of its grinding facility in Mabini, Batangas, by the third quarter of 2013.

By April, the company said it would also present a proposal to its board of directors in Switzerland for a new brownfield plant in Norzagaray, Bulacan.