● Health and safety initiatives and agile cost management measures were key to 2020 performance
● Cost and efficiency gains to be sustained and benefit the Company beyond 2020
● Sustainable operations, new building products, and digital solutions will be focus areas in driving profitable growth
John Stull, President and CEO of Holcim Philippines, Inc. said: “Key to our resilient 2020 performance was our focus on Health, Cash and Cost. We improved efficiency and sustainability of operations. We also introduced new building solutions and enhanced digital tools to better serve the customers. With our committed employees and loyal business partners, these improvements make us ready to help drive a faster recovery and deliver great value to all our stakeholders.”
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Net Sales declined by 22% to Php26.0 billion as volume and prices dropped due to the impact of the pandemic. Lockdowns from March to May and severe weather conditions in the fourth quarter further affected the business. These hampered delivery of raw materials and services to production sites and dispatch of products to customers.
Holcim Philippines posted Operating Earnings before Income Tax (EBIT) of Php2.8 billion which was 44% lower than the 2019 Operating EBIT of Php4.9 billion.
The Company responded to the pandemic by rationalizing costs and managing spend. Programs addressing Health, Cash and Cost yielded a cost improvement of 7% over 2019. Distribution expenses decreased by 18% due to the operational and cost efficiencies, including the shift of delivery mode to higher proportion of pick-up sales. The Company also benefitted from the global decline in fuel and energy prices.
Holcim Philippines is expected to sustain its gains from cost management and efficiency improvements beyond 2020.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Holcim Philippines kept operations free from COVID-19 in 2020 due to immediate actions in line with government guidelines and LafargeHolcim Group’s best practices. These enabled the Company to prevent any health-related disruptions and to provide reliable supply to customers after the lockdowns were eased nationwide.
On the commercial side, the Company partnered with mixed martial arts organization ONE Championship and its heavyweight world champion, Brandon “The Truth” Vera, for a campaign on our strong legacy of excellence in helping build important structures for the country’s development. Product innovations also continued with the launch of Holcim Multifix, a new easy-to-use and multipurpose mortar product to improve the quality of walls, floors, and tile installations in buildings.
The Company advanced in commercial digitalization with significant increases in the usage of online customer portal Easybuild for orders and payments versus 2020. Furthermore, strong customer connections were maintained through virtual platforms in a program called E- Konekta.
Among the sustainability highlights were the 160,000 people assisted by the Holcim HELPS CSR campaign. More resources were given to community health and sanitation projects in response to the COVID-19 situation. The Company is also set to invest Php121.5 million until 2022 to improve usage of alternative fuels and raw materials for cement production at its Bulacan plant.
KEY FIGURES (IN THOUSANDS)
Full Year Fourth Quarter
Jan.-Dec. 2020 Jan.-Dec. 2019 Oct.-Dec. 2020 Oct.-Dec. 2019
Net Sales Php 26,015,342 Php 33,486,771 Php 7,235,405 Php 9,808,182
EBITDA Php 4,731,443 Php 6,688,827 Php 1,530,296 Php 2,490,287
Operating EBIT Php 2,763,520 Php 4,942,028 Php 943,353 Php 2,000,777
Net Profit Php 2,064,084 Php 3,589,642 Php 1,036,553 Php 1,711,713
*For more information on our financial performance, you may check our page at the Philippines Stock
Exchange website or the section on disclosures on our Company’s website.
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Holcim Philippines, Inc. (Philippine Stock Exchange: HLCM) is one of the leading building solution companies in the country. The Company has a deep portfolio of innovative solutions fostered by a full range of products from structuring to finishing applications that can help local builders execute with high performance and efficiency a wide range of projects from massive infrastructure to simple home repairs.
With cement manufacturing facilities in La Union, Bulacan, Batangas, Misamis Oriental and Davao, as well as aggregates and dry mix business and technical support facilities for building solutions, Holcim Philippines is a reliable partner of builders in the country.
Holcim Philippines is also committed to the highest standards of sustainable operations and manufacturing excellence with its plants certified under ISO 14001:2004 (Environmental Management System), ISO 9001:2008 (Quality Management System) and OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System).
Holcim Philippines is a member of the LafargeHolcim Group, the world leader in the building materials industry present in 80 countries with over 75,000 employees.