Cement losses drag DMCI first-quarter profit to P5.1B
DMCI Holdings president Isidro Consunji
MANILA, Philippines — Losses at its newly acquired cement business and lower coal prices at its energy unit pulled down the first-quarter earnings of engineering conglomerate DMCI Holdings Inc. by 9 percent to P5.1 billion.
This offset gains from its real estate, water, nickel mining and off-grid power businesses.
“Market conditions today are very different from five years ago, but our businesses have adapted well,” DMCI chair and CEO Isidro Consunji said in their stock exchange disclosure on Wednesday.
READ: DMCI sets P70-B capex to shore up profitability
Earnings of Semirara Mining and Power Corp. tumbled by 31 percent to P2.5 billion on lower coal prices and a higher share of lower-grade coal shipments.
Meanwhile, developer DMCI Homes logged a 56-percent surge in its bottom line to P1.4 billion on higher forfeiture and rental income.
Maynilad Water Services Inc., in which DMCI holds a 27-percent stake, contributed P926 million to the group’s total net income, up by 39 percent due to the higher tariffs that had taken effect in January.
Off-grid electricity provider DMCI Power saw its earnings inch up by 2 percent to P270 million as its energy sales climbed.
DMCI Mining, meanwhile, swung back to profitability with a P409-million net income coming from a P22-million net loss a year ago. This was because of higher selling prices, DMCI said.
Construction unit DM Consunji Inc. slashed its earnings by half to P50 million on higher cash costs, project delays and “conservative revenue recognition practices.”
Concreat Holdings Philippines Inc., formerly Cemex Philippines, posted a net loss of P546 million on the back of lower volumes and higher interest expense.
