Displaying items by tag: Eagle Cement

Philippines: Eagle Cement has announced the start of reduced production and distribution of cement from its 7.1Mt/yr Bulacan plant following the partial easing of the coronavirus lockdown in the Philippines in May 2020. Eagle Cement president and chief executive officer (CEO) Paul Ang said, “We are starting to ramp up production as local demand for cement picks up following the easing of restriction in markets that we serve. We fully support the government's call to prioritise critical infrastructure projects to help reboot the economy. We hope to be able to safely return to a semblance of normality, mobilise our supply chains, create jobs and stimulate consumer spending.”

Philippines: Eagle Cement says it will continue to provide food packages containing rice and tinned food to 18,000 families impacted upon by the coronavirus outbreak. The Manila Bulletin has reported that the provision will not end with the partial easing of the country’s lockdown but will continue until no longer needed.

Eagle Cement chairman Ramón Ang said, “Eagle Cement is committed to continue helping our partner communities where we operate, during the crisis and beyond. We were able to expand the reach of our relief operations and extend assistance to more people in need including front liners in Bulacan and to families in our community in Cebu,” where the company is planning to build a new integrated cement plant.

"The livelihoods of many residents of our communities have been affected by this pandemic and do not have the means to provide for their families. We hope that our relief operations are able to help them in addressing their crucial needs during this vulnerable time. No matter what crisis our fellow Filipinos may experience, they can rely on Eagle to support them. As a company, it is our duty to help and serve," said Ang.

US: Eagle Materials has sold its Western Aggregates and Mathews Ready Mix subsidiaries for a combined value of US$93.5m. Eagle’s President and chief executive officer (CEO), Michael Haack said that the transaction represented the sale of non-core assets on the heavy-side of the company that do not provide essential support to its primary cement plant network.

Philippines: Eagle Cement Corporation’s profit in 2019 was US$118m, up by 25% from US$94.1m in 2018. Sales for the year amounted to US$389m, up by 20% from US$324m in 2018. The Manila Times newspaper has reported that the company attributed the rises to ‘increased sales volumes growth,’ due in part to ‘robust demand for private consumption.’ Eagle president and CEO Paul Ang said, “We keep our positive stance that demand will eventually pick up once the enhanced community quarantine is lifted by the government and we remain committed to delivering high quality cement to both private and public sectors as soon as this happens.”

Eagle Cement Corporation will complete the installation of a fifth mill at its 7.1Mt/yr integrated Bulacan plant in 2020, bringing its cement capacity to 8.6Mt/yr.

US: Eagle Materials has appointed Mike Nicolais as the chairman and Michael Haack as the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of its Heavy Materials spin-off business. The building materials company intends to split into separate Heavy Materials and Light Materials businesses in the summer of 2020. The Heavy Materials company will focus on cement production with complementary concrete, aggregates and sand operations. It will also continue to evaluate strategic alternatives with respect to its frac sand business.

Predictably, the recent investigation by the Tariff Commission in the Philippines on whether to maintain duties on imported cement recommended that the safeguard duty be kept. It even suggested raising the rate to nearly US$6/t from US$4/t at present. The report has been passed to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which will make the final decision on the matter.

Graph 1: Market share of the Philippines cement industry between local producers and traders, 2013 - 2018. Source: Tariff Commission of the Philippines.

As the commission built its argument it released a great snapshot of the local cement industry and it’s well worth a read for anyone who is interested. One key graph here was the speed at which the market share of cement sold by local producers fell compared to importers from 2013 to 2018. As Graph 1 shows above, traders imported 0.29Mt in 2015 and this rose to 4.66Mt 2018. Imports by local producers also grew during this time but at a far slower rate. They were 0.45Mt in 2015, grew to a high of 1.65Mt in 2016 and then stabilised at around 1Mt/yr since then. Seven of the top 10 cement exporters were Vietnamese companies followed by two from China and one from Thailand. However, the local producers were importing clinker on a far larger scale during this period. 16.8Mt of clinker was imported from 2013 to 2018 led by Holcim Philippines with 5.54Mt or a 33% share. In Holcim’s case this was coming from China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Elsewhere, the report established the various production capacity upgrades the local cement producers had invested in or were planning to in the near future. Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, for example, was reported as planning an expansion to its Cebu plant production line from 2022 to 2025. It then looked at kiln capacity utilisation rates, prices and how profits have changed amongst much else. It concluded that the import surge from 2015 to 2018 had depressed prices and decreased the profitability of the local producers. This fitted its definition of ‘serious injury’ as one reason to impose a safeguard duty on imports.

Importers presented a different scenario to the commission during its investigation and afterwards. Phinma, for example, told local press that the commission’s comparison calculation of the costs behind local and imported cement didn’t take into all the costs the importers endured such as a local distribution and handling once in the country. The Philippines Cement Importers Association reiterated the view of its members that they were simply meeting market demand, that local producers had caused their own problems through overcapacity and that profits varied considerably amongst local producers, amongst other arguments. This has been borne out by some of the half-year results amongst the local producers. Eagle Cement, for example, saw its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grow by 21% year-on-year to US$80.6m.

With the publication of the commission’s report the DTI has been handed the impetus to hold up or even raise the duty on imported cement. Based on its actions in recent years the ministry seems likely to do so. This presents a contrast to Trinidad & Tobago where importer Rock Hard Cement won a legal battle earlier in August 2019 against competitor and Cemex-subsidiary Trinidad Cement over the classification of imported cement products. These kinds of trade conflicts are likely to proliferate whilst global production capacity outstrips demand but the outcomes may vary.

Philippines: Eagle Cement’s sales rose by 28% year-on-year to US$202m in the first half of 2019 from US$157m in the same period in 2018. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 21% to US$80.6m.

The company said it was on track to complete a 1.5Mt/yr grinding upgrade to its Bulacan plant in 2020. It added that it was secured approval for a permit to build a port terminal to support its new Line 4 production line at its Cebu plant. Once completed it expects to sell cement in the Visayas region by the end of 2020.

Philippines: Eagle Cement says that the opening of its new Malabuyoc integrated 2Mt/yr plant in Cebu has been delayed by six months to mid-2021. The new unit had been scheduled to start operation in late 2020, according to the BusinessWorld newspaper. The holdup has been blamed on delays in obtaining permits for the project. However, the company intends to start selling cement in the Visayas region by the end of 2020 as originally promised.

John Paul L Ang, the president and chief executive Officer (CEO) of Eagle Cement, made the comments at the cement producer’s annual stockholders' meeting. Work on the new plant started in late 2017. Once complete the new line will bring the company’s total cement production capacity to 9.1Mt/yr. The project also includes port facilities and cement terminals that will serve markets in Visayas and Mindanao. Eagle Cement also operates an integrated plant at San Ildefonso, Bulacan and a grinding plant at Bataan.

US: Eagle Materials are started a strategic review of its portfolio of businesses including heavy materials, light materials, and oil and gas proppants. It says it commissioned the review, “…following consultation and input from the company's largest shareholders.” During the process it will consider options, including divesting businesses.

Philippines: Companies including Japan’s Taiheyo Cement, Thailand’s Siam City Cement and China’s Anhui Cement have been linked to the sale of Holcim Philippines. Local companies include Eagle Cement and DMCI Group, according to sources quoted by the Philippine Star. Non-binding offers were have been submitted in February 2019 but it is not clear which companies were involved. However, no agreement has been reached on price yet. LafargeHolcim has reportedly looking at selling its business in the Philippines as part of a review of its operations in South-East Asia.