EAGLE Cement Corp. said its income for the first half of the year ending June fell 61 percent to P1.3 billion from last year’s P3.33 billion on steep drop in economic activity due to Covid-19 lockdown measures.
Net sales fell 44 percent to P5.9 billion from last year’s P10.49 billion, the company said.
“These are very difficult times but we remain confident that the economy will recover from this pandemic and emerge stronger. The government’s steady push for the completion of major infrastructure projects and the private sector’s readiness to bounce back offer encouraging signs for our Company’s prospects moving forward,” Eagle President and CEO Paul Ang said.
Eagle said it expects the strong performance it saw early in the year to resume once the government eases further the quarantine restrictions, especially in Luzon.
For the second quarter alone, the company said it had a net profit of merely P128 million, or just a fraction of the P1.74 billion it earned last year. Net sales dropped 73 percent to P1.4 billion from last year’s P5.12 billion.
Ang said the pandemic that has gouged the economy this year has created a highly competitive cement market that could squeeze profits.
“More aggressive strategies in pricing and marketing will be undertaken in the remaining half of the year,” he said.
He said the company still has a strong financial position as of end June to withstand any external adversities amid the crisis. Total assets amounted to P45.8 billion, a 7-percent drop from the end of last year’s figure while total liabilities declined by 13 percent to P10.2 billion.
“Our balance sheet remains strong and well-capitalized and the company is well-positioned to take advantage of a rebound in the construction industry. We continue to expand our production capacity despite the pandemic, underscoring our confidence on the economy’s ability to recover once quarantine restrictions are further eased,” Ang said.
Eagle said its Bulacan expansion is under way and is slated to be completed in the first quarter of 2021. It will increase its cement production capacity by 1.5 million metric tons to 8.6 million MT a year.