Eagle Cement Corp., the cement manufacturing unit of businessman Ramon Ang, is on the lookout for acquisitions to expand capacity.
Eagle chief finance officer Monica Ang said the company was conducting due diligence on possible targets.
“Even before our initial public offering, we have been looking and in discussions. We are still on due diligence stage,” Ang said.
Among the factors that the cement firm was considering for an acquisition were the location of the cement plant or proximity to a strategic market and access to raw materials such as limestone.
Ang said the cement plant should have the proper permits from the government agencies and that valuation should be very attractive.
“We have specific qualifications before we make an acquisition,” Ang said.
Eagle president John Paul Ang said the main priority was still the development of a new plant. He said in case of an acquisition, it would only be a single-line production.
Average capacity of a single line is 2 million metric tons.
Eagle expects to sustain the positive momentum in the first quarter, amid strong demand. Eagle booked a 30-percent growth in first-quarter net income, with growth spilling over to the second quarter.
“We are very happy [with] our second quarter. We have the best margins, so we can complete in terms of pricing,” Ang said.
Eagle is set to break ground for a new cement plant in Cebu in the fourth quarter of 2017. The plant, which will have capacity of 2 million metric tons, is expected to start commercial operations by 2019.
“We will start manufacturing and selling cement from our plant in Cebu by 2019,” Ang said.
