EAGLE Cement Corp. said profit in the first quarter of the year reached P1.2 billion, down 25 percent from P1.6 billion last year.
Sales stood at P4.5 billion, down 16 percent from P5.4 billion last year.
The company said the drop was due to the decreased construction activity brought about by the quarantine instituted to address the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic,
Earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) hit P1.7 billion, down 14 percent from P2 billion last year.
The company expressed optimism the demand for cement will recuperate, with the government’s recent declaration to allow certain types of construction to resume in areas under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
It noted prior to the quarantine, it has experienced sales growth in terms of volume.
“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 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,” said Paul Ang, Eagle president.
Eagle is also set to complete its fifth cement mill by the third quarter of this year, which will expand its Bulacan plant’s annual cement output by 1.5 million metric tons (MMT) to 8.6 MMT by the end of 2020.
Eagle closed the period with assets of P49.9 billion, up 2 percent. Total liabilities stood at P11.4 billion, down 2 percent while stockholder’s equity was at P38.5 billion, up 3 percent.
“The company maintained its current gearing at low levels, with debt to equity ratio and financial debt to equity registering at 0.30x and 0.18x, respectively,” it said.
