Eagle Cement income last year dips to P3.4 billion

MANILA, Philippines  —  Eagle Cement Corp., the listed cement company of the Ang family, reported a 44 percent decline in its net  income last year to P3.4 billion

In a filing yesterday, Eagle Cement said the quarantine restrictions disrupted the company’s strong start last year.

“The halting of our operations due to pandemic-related restrictions took a hit on our results in the first half of 2020, but the remaining half proved that we are well-positioned to bounce back,” Eagle Cement president and  CEO Paul Ang said.

Net sales declined 30 percent to P13.9 billion,  narrowing its 44 percent decline in the first half of 2020.

Despite the decline in the company’s historically-strong numbers, Eagle Cement continued to outperform its listed peers’ average margins, Eagle Cement said.

For the second semester of last year,  Eagle Cement generated net sales of nearly P8 billion, 14 percent lower than the same period in 2019, but 35 percent higher versus the first half of the same year.

Ang said volume improved last year despite the challenging environment.

Moving forward, Ang said the company would continue to work on aggressive marketing and better pricing strategies.

“This will be complemented by focusing on cost control initiatives in our operations which will enable us to deliver better returns in 2021,” Ang said.

Ang said Eagle Cement is hopeful that the ongoing national vaccination program would translate to recovery.

Eagle Cement’s expansion in Bulacan, with its fifth finish mill, third packhouse and other supporting facilities, is nearly complete and will be operational by the second quarter this year.

This expansion will increase Eagle Cement’s production capacity by 1.5 million metric tonnes (MMT), bringing its total annual cement capacity to 8.6 MMT.