Competition, higher costs weigh on Holcim Q2 profit

Earnings of Holcim Philippines, Inc. slumped by a fourth in the second quarter of 2018, as higher costs and stiff competition dragged the double-digit increase in sales.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Thursday, July 26, the listed cement manufacturer said net income reached P868 million, 25% lower than the P1.16 billion profit it delivered in the same period a year ago.
The decline came despite the 18.5% growth in revenues to P10.1 billion. This marked the first time that the company reported an uptick in sales after three consecutive quarters of slower revenues.
“Our Q2 performance showed encouraging trends which translated into significant sales growth on the back of strong building activity. However, rising costs of fuel, power and distribution combined with the peso’s depreciation against the U.S. dollar and tighter competition continued to impact our business performance in the second quarter,” Holcim President and Chief Executive Officer John Stull said in a statement. — Arra B. Francia