Eagle Cement Corp., a listed cement company owned by business tycoon Ramon Ang, registered a net income of P4.7 billion in the first nine months of 2019, up 35 percent from P3.5 billion year-on-year, on double-digit growth in sales.
Eagle said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Friday net sales amounted to P15.3 billion in the first nine months of the year, an increase of 25 percent from P12.2 billion it posted a year earlier.
The sales were boosted by a 19-percent increase in volume and supported by the rise in the average selling price of cement.
The cement company also attributed the higher volume growth to the strong domestic environment for cement and robust private consumption.
“Eagle is poised to deliver double-digit growth towards the remainder of the year, as local demand for cement is expected to remain high in line with the anticipated pickup in construction activities coming from both public and private sectors,” Eagle president and chief executive Paul Ang said.
“Our year-to-date solid financial performance is stirred by our relentless efforts to provide world-class, quality cement products at affordable prices while still maintaining our operating efficiencies,” he added.
Gross profit amounted to P6.7 billion, up 20 percent from a year ago level.
Eagle said net income in the third quarter reached P1.4 billion, up 18 percent on year. Third-quarter net sales also climbed 21 percent to P4.8 billion.
“As we operate in a more competitive environment, we will continue to embark on our organic growth strategy and penetrate new geographies to maximize the growth potential of the cement industry and drive sustainable returns for the Company,” Ang added.
Meanwhile, the cement company said its grinding capacity expansion was under way, increasing the annual cement capacity by 1.5 million metric tons to 8.6 MMT in its Bulacan plant by 2020.
Share price of Eagle on Friday gained 2 percent to P15.50.
Integrated energy company Semirara Mining and Power Corp., meanwhile, posted a consolidated net income after tax of P8.25 billion in the first nine months, down five percent from P8.66 billion on year.
SMPC reported a 278-percent improvement of net income after tax quarter-on-quarter to P2.58 billion from P0.68 billion last year.
“The good performance in the current nine-month period was mainly contributed by better coal sales and higher energy generation and power revenue by one of its subsidiaries, Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. (SLPGC),” SMPC said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
SMPC said coal production and volume sold rose 35 percent and 45 percent year-on-year to 12 million metric tons and 12.1 million MT, respectively.
“Current 3rd quarter weather condition is better than same quarter last year. Coal revenue managed a 13 percent increase despite the 22 percent drop in coal ASP/MT (average selling price per metric ton),” it said.
