Consunji targets Cemex turnaround in 3 years
It will take around three years for Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc. to recoup its financial losses amid a still challenging environment for cement manufacturers, with its new owners looking at new ways to improve operational efficiency.
Herbert Consunji, newly appointed president and CEO of Cemex, told reporters last week that their first order of business this year would be to “at least go above water.”
“We have a lot to fix in terms of operational efficiency … we’re studying little by little; it cannot be done overnight,” Consunji told reporters on the sidelines of the Management Association of the Philippines’ induction of new officers.
The Consunji family, through DMCI Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries, officially closed the $272-million takeover of Cemex in December.
DMCI now has a 51-percent stake in Cemex, while Semirara Mining and Power Corp. and Dacon Corp. hold 10 percent and 29 percent, respectively.
The public currently owns 1.35 billion shares in Cemex, representing a 10.01-percent ownership, or just within the 10-percent minimum requirement. This allows Cemex to remain listed on the local bourse.
While DMCI had initially planned a turnaround for the country’s fourth-largest cement manufacturer this year, Consunji pointed out that “there are a lot of things to do.”
Still, the CEO said they were hoping to at least trim Cemex’s losses in the next year.
In the first nine months of 2024, Cemex’s net loss ballooned by 131 percent to P2.87 billion due to lower cement prices and higher expenses.
The company’s current annual production capacity stands at 5.7 million tons, although this is expected to grow to 7.2 million tons this year upon the completion of its Solid Cement Corp. expansion plant.
DMCI is likewise betting on the integration of its businesses—mainly real estate and power—to help plug the bleeding of Cemex.
Last July, Cemex subsidiary APO Cement Corp. signed a retail electricity supply agreement with Semirara’s SEM Calaca RES Corp. The latter will provide 44 megawatts of power to two cement facilities in Naga, Cebu province.
Meanwhile, DMCI Homes wants to source around 400,000 metric tons of cement from Cemex.
