Phinma to pour P2.6B into cement facility

The Phinma group is investing as much as P2.6 billion in a cement processing plant in Bataan, supporting its return to the cement business with an initial annual production capacity of two million metric tons.

Philcement Corp., a 60-percent owned subsidiary of Phinma Corp. and Seasia Nectar Port Services Inc. (SNPSI), signed a deal to take over certain construction-in-progress assets, including the usage rights to pier facilities and land currently under lease by Philcement, for its Bataan cement processing terminal, for a total consideration of P800 million.

This will be done through Philcement’s assumption of a loan incurred by SNPSI for the same principal amount.

The P800-million initial investment will be just for the port facilities and the land, Eduardo Sahagun, Philcement president and chief executive officer, said in a text message on Friday, when asked to clarify a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

To complete the plant, Sahagun said the company would need an additional outlay of between P1.5 billion and P1.8 billion.

The capacity of the Bataan plant is two million tons per year, expandable to four million tons annually, depending on market demand.

“This will certainly help the country supply its cement requirements for its ‘Build, Build, Build program,’” Sahagun said.

In a disclosure to the PSE on Friday, Phinma said this investment would create operational and cost efficiencies aligned with Philcement’s “commitment to assure Filipino consumers of reliable, high-quality supply of cement products under its legacy brand Union Cement.”