Eagle Cement 9-month bottom line up 6% to P3.5B

Cement-maker Eagle Cement Corp. grew its net profit in the first nine months by 6 percent year-on-year to P3.5 billion, driven by a double-digit growth in sales volume and stable prices.

For the nine-month period, Eagle’s net sales grew by 9 percent year-on-year to P12.2 billion, the company disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday.

For the third quarter alone, Eagle posted a net profit of P1.2 billion, up by 8 percent from the level in the same period last year. Net sales for the quarter went up by 6.1 percent year-on-year.

“We remain aggressive and committed in growing our company organically as we are leveraging on the rising cement demand in the country on the back of the infrastructure push of the government and optimism on the private sector,” Eagle president and chief executive officer Paul Ang said.

Gross profit margin ended at 46 percent during the nine-month period. Despite higher input costs during the period, cash flow as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) grew by 3 percent with Ebitda margin registering at 42 percent.

“In 2019, we will start building additional grinding capacity in Bulacan that will add 1.5 million metric tons, bringing our plant’s total annual cement capacity to 8.6 million metric tons,” Ang said.

As of end-September, Eagle’s total assets increased by 4 percent year-on-year to P44 billion.

The company has an outstanding debt of 40 centavos for every peso of equity while financial debt stood at only 27 centavos for every peso of equity, providing flexibility in its funding strategy to support expansion plans. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA