Holcim to boost capacity

Holcim’s La Union plant

The country’s leading cement-maker Holcim Philippines is investing $54 million in the next two years to expand capacity amid cutthroat competition which has gnawed on profitability.

In the first six months, Holcim’s net profit fell by 42.6 percent year-on-year to P2.1 billion, weighed down by a 16.7-percent year-on-year decline in net sales to P17.4 billion. For the second quarter alone, net profit slumped by 46.2 percent year-on-year to P1.16 billion.

The decline in income was attributed by the company to lower sales as well as higher production input costs.

Nonetheless, Holcim said it would continue to invest to raise its cement production capacity from its current 10 million metric tons to 12 million metric tons to support demand as the government
rolls out its flagship infrastructure projects.

In a press statement on Wednesday, Holcim Philippines president and chief executive officer Sapna Sood said the investments indicated the company’s continued commitment to the development of the country and to serving its customers better.

“Our investments assure that Holcim Philippines will continue to provide a reliable supply of an
essential building material as cement demand increases in the country as these projects come
on stream,” she said.

The company will invest $54 million in the next two years to add two million metric tons to its
current cement capacity by the first half of 2019, particularly in La Union and Davao, she said.

“This investment continues the company’s successful de-bottlenecking of all sites in 2016 that
already raised cement capacity to 10 million metric tons from 8.5 million,” Sood added.