Demand slump and cost pressures take toll on Cemex Philippines: Net loss soars 148% in H1

Cemex Holdings Philippines (CHP) reported significant losses in the first half of the year, primarily driven by lower operating earnings amid challenging market conditions and an increase in the cost of sales.

CHP incurred a net loss of P662 million from January to June, 148 percent higher than the P267 million loss recorded in the same period last year.

As its operations remained to be negatively impacted by challenging external conditions, net sales declined by 15 percent to P9.1 billion.

Domestic cement volumes fell by 17 percent mainly due to subdued cement demand and heightened industry competition.

The domestic cement price has risen by two percent, as part of the company’s pricing strategy to counter the substantial input cost inflation observed in areas like fuel, electricity, and transportation.

CHP anticipates a decrease ranging from mid-single-digit to high-single-digit percentage for its domestic cement sales volume in the current year.

Company president and CEO Luis Franco said the group expects to face challenging market conditions and cost pressures for the second half of 2023.

“We are cautiously optimistic for the second half of the year, in light of decelerating inflation and the government’s continued roll-out of its infrastructure programs,” Franco said.

“While we still have work in front of us, we are encouraged by the steady improvement in our cost base over the last two quarters. In this year of transition for our company, we will continue to persevere and transform our company into a more resilient and more sustainable CEMEX Holdings Philippines,” he added.