Holcim Q3 profit up 34.2% on cost-cutting measures

The country’s leading cement-maker Holcim Philippines grew its third quarter net profit by 34.2 percent year-on-year to P613.7 million, driven by belt-tightening measures due to the challenging environment.

For the nine-month period, Holcim chalked up a net profit of P1.03 billion, down by 45.3 percent year-on-year, the company disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday.

Holcim reported business conditions remained challenging although there were noted improvements in the third quarter. However, such recovery was not enough to offset the impact of the pande­mic-induced slowdown of operations from March to May, the peak season of construction.

“We are proud of our organization’s tremendous resilience amid the unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19. While there are challenges ahead, we remain confident that the steps to keep our people healthy and safe, preserve cash and be prudent on costs enable us to emerge stronger from this crisis,” Holcim president and chief executive John Stull said.

“Opportunities abound for our business as the construction industry will play a key role in the country’s recovery from the pandemic. Moving forward, we are ready to support our partners build better and deliver great value to all our stakeholders,” he added.

Net sales declined by 21 percent year-on-year to P18.8 billion during the nine-month period. In the third quarter alone, net sales were down by 11 percent to P7.4 billion. Cash flow rebounded in the third quarter, improving by 28.1 percent year-on-year to P1.5 billion, due mainly to cost management and efficiency improvement initiatives.

Holcim cut operating expenses by 14.8 percent year-on-year to P274.2 million in the third quarter, and by 22.56 percent year-on-year in the nine-month period to P827.15 million.

Net financial expense also declined by 65.8 percent year-on-year in the third quarter.

—DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA