Philippines: Holcim Philippines improved its profit in the third quarter of 2019 by 158% year-on year to US$9.00m from US$3.48m. Its sales in the quarter fell by 2.7% year-on-year to US$163m from US$167m in 2018. The company sustained price increases in spite of lower demand causing a fall in volumes. Nine-month sales fell by 13% to US$465m from US$536m in the corresponding period to 30 September 2018. Upgrades to its La Union and Davao cement plants in previous quarters dragged on nine-month profit, which rose by 7.9% year-on-year to US$36.9m from US$34.2m in the corresponding period of 2018, but paid dividends in the third quarter, bolstered by the resumption of government infrastructure spending.
