Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc. said Friday net income surged 137 percent in the first quarter of the year to P172 million from P73 million year-on-year on better operating income and lower foreign exchange losses.
Cemex said in a disclosure to the stock exchange net sales climbed six percent from January to March this year to P6.23 billion from P5.89 billion a year ago on higher prices, a result of the price adjustments implemented in 2018.
Sales volume, however, dropped one percent as the company was still recovering at the start of the year from the impact of the September 2018 landslide in Naga City, Cebu, near its APO plant.
Sales volumes, however, increased throughout the quarter, reaching an all-time high in monthly sales volume in March, driven by a strong residential sector and sustained public infrastructure spending.
“At the start of the year, we set out goals for the company to grow our sales volume with the market and generate production and distribution efficiencies. There were challenges at the beginning as we were still recovering our markets that were affected by last year’s landslide in Naga City but I believe we managed to make significant progress along the way,” said Cemex president and chief executive Ignacio Mijares.
Cost of goods sold during the first quarter rose 14 percent on year because of the maintenance shutdown of the Solid cement plant that was not made in the previous year.
The company also used outsourced clinker inventory and cement imports that the company built up and ordered in late 2018 in response to the Naga City landslide.
The company earlier said it would seek shareholders’ approval during the upcoming annual stockholders’ meeting on June 5, 2019 to increase the authorized capital stock.
The cement firm is potentially looking to raise up to $250 million that will allow it to improve its capital structure, fully fund its ongoing Solid Cement plant expansion and provide balance sheet flexibility.
“The strategic location of our Solid expansion project will allow us to efficiently contribute and take part the country’s infrastructure growth,” said Mijares.