Crown Asia income jumped 53.2% in 2015

CROWN Asia Chemicals Corp., a listed manufacturer and retailer of branded pipes and PVC compounds, expects to sustain growth in 2016 after reporting a jump in profit last year, a top executive said Monday.

Crown Asia said in a stock exchange filing on Monday that its net income in 2015 jumped 53.2 percent to P100.15 million, as revenues hit P1.07 billion, up 26.6 percent compared to 2014.

Crown Asia president Eugene Villanueva told reporters in a briefing on Monday that the company, which listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange in April 2015, would continue to see growth this year.

“We are very prudent in the way we manage our business, and we are quite aggressive in the market,” Villanueva said.

Crown Asia sales of  PVC compounds, used in cables, wires and packaging materials, hit P670.8 million, up by a fifth, last year.

It said this was led by “strong” export sales, which grew 53.2 percent to P367.2 million.

Sales in the pipe group grew by 36.78 percent to P402.04 million  compared to the previous year.

This was due to gains in its project sales segment, which grew to P258.35 million in 2015, making up 64 percent of total pipe sales, the company said.

The company made inroads to government projects through the supply deals to the Naia Expressway Phases 1 and 2 and NHA Housing Projects.

Derrick Villanueva, Crown Asia general manager for the pipes division, said the company was bidding for an additional 15 projects, including those under the government’s public private-partnership program.

Also, Crown Asia launched its new Enduro pipe product line to serve the mid-cost and mass housing sectors.

The backlog in these segments was  estimated at five million units “and is expected to grow continuously.”

“The market will continue to grow for the mass housing, people are getting to be more economically stable,” Walter Villanueva, who serves as chair and head of the pipe group, said.

The company’s compounds division last January  received its new extruder line from Germany, adding 1,500 metric tons per year to its current capacity of 15,000 MTPY.

This equipment produces PVC compounds for bottles, IC tube packaging, films and sheets applications, it said.

“With the company’s expanding capacity and new range of product lines, Crown Asia Chemicals is confident with its growth momentum as we are well positioned and equipped to supply the demands of the robust infrastructure and construction industries.” the company’s chair said in a statement on Monday. Miguel R. Camus