EAGLE Cement Corp. reported a 25% drop in net earnings for the first quarter due to reduced construction activity in light of quarantine measures to contain the coronavirus.
The cement manufacturer said in a statement on Thursday its net income in the January-to-March period fell to P1.2 billion from P1.6 billion a year ago.
Its topline went down 16% to P4.5 billion as the slowdown in construction activity reduced demand for its products.
It noted that before parts of the country were put under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in mid-March, Eagle Cement was recording a growth in sales volume.
As construction work will now be allowed under ECQ, Eagle Cement said it was looking forward to recording a bounce-back in demand.
“Now that construction projects have resumed in the midst of the ECQ, we expect the demand for cement to steadily pick up in the coming weeks,” Eagle Cement President and Chief Executive Officer John Paul L. Ang was quoted as saying in the statement.
“Eagle Cement is fully capable of providing sufficient high-quality cement and we look forward to supporting both public and private sectors in their construction needs as areas in the Philippines shift to more relaxed community quarantine regulations,” he added.
The company is expecting to complete a new cement mill in Bulacan by the third quarter, which would raise its annual cement output to 8.6 million metric tons by the end of the year.
Eagle Cement already has three production lines in San lldefonso, Bulacan and a fourth production line under construction in Malabuyoc, Cebu.
Shares in the company at the stock exchange closed flat on Thursday at P8.4 apiece. — Denise A. Valdez
