Cement News tagged under: PPC
PPC planning for the long term17 June 2016, Published under Cement NewsSouth Africa's cement market expanded 7.7 per cent in 2015, but a more competitive environment including new entrants and imports has placed pressure on incumbents, not least the market leader PPC. The company is now facing short-term funding issues as it seeks to execute new projects in Ethiopia, DR Congo and Zimbabwe, but in the long term a more diversified portfolio will strengthen the company. Updating shareholders this week, PPC reported that operating profits fell by three per cent ... |
PPC sees six-month revenues and volumes flat14 June 2016, Published under Cement NewsIn its trading figures for the six months to 31 March 2016, PPC saw its operating profits fall by three per cent to ZAR733m (US$48m). Revenues were flat at ZAR4501m (US$294m), down one per cent on the same period in 2015. Likewise, volume sales were down one per cent overall, although in South Africa volumes rose by one per cent. Despite higher volumes, revenues in South Africa fell due to lower prices, while in the rest of Africa revenues rose by six per cent to ZAR1367m (US$89m). This f... |
South Africa: PPC shares drop24 May 2016, Published under Cement NewsPPC Ltd shares plunged after it said talks with a credit ratings agency will probably lead to a downgrade. The company is preparing a capital raising of ZAR4bn (US$254m) to be used to reduce debt and fund expansion plans, PPC said in a statement. It said shareholders will be advised on the credit agency’s final decision when it has the information. PPC stock declined 18 per cent, its largest drop on record, to ZAR11.25 on Monday. Company shares are down 27 per cent for the year. To co... |
Rwanda: rail and energy projects to boost cement demand23 May 2016, Published under Cement NewsThe Rwandan government’s announcement of two major infrastructure projects is set to be a boon for the country’s cement producers, the Mail and Guardian Africa reports. The KivuWatt gas-water extraction project will take gas from Lake Kivu to generate 100MW of electricity by 2019, while the Dar es Salaam-Isaka-Kigali/Keza-Musongati (DIKKM) standard-gauge railway will link Rwanda with ports in neighbouring Tanzania. Busi Legodi, CEO of PPC Rwanda, has welcomed the new initiatives, notin... |
Zimbabwe: PPC's Harare plant is half-way complete15 April 2016, Published under Cement NewsThe construction of a new cement plant by Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) in Harare is progressing as planned and is now 55 per cent complete. The plant is expected to produce 70.7Mta of cement when fully commissioned. This is in line with the South African parent company's strategy of growing its non-South African revenue from the current 21 per cent to at least 40 per cent before the end of this year. Sources at PPC told the Financial Gazette this week that the plant would be operatio... |
PPC's acquisition of 3Q Mahuma Concrete approved14 April 2016, Published under Cement NewsSouth Africa's Competition Tribunal yesterday approved,without condition, PPC's acquisition of 3Q Mahuma Concrete, the largest independently owned ready-mix concrete supplier in southern Africa. The Competition Commission had recommended the tribunal approve the acquisition without conditions, but by late yesterday the tribunal had not communicated its decision. PPC previously disclosed that it planned to acquire the company for a maximum of ZAR183m (US$12.48m). It said the proposed ... |
PPC appoint Peter Nelson as new chairman31 March 2016, Published under Cement NewsSouth African-based PPC has appointed Peter Nelson as interim chairman of the listed cement and lime producer, following the retirement of former chairman, Bheki Sibiya, at the end of January. Nelson was appointed to the PPC board as an independent non-executive director in January this year. His experience covers manufacturing, mining, telecommunications, healthcare, leisure, property, packaging and the motor industry in listed and private entities in South Africa, the UK, Zimbabwe a... |
PPC’s Harare plant on course for 2016 commissioning24 March 2016, Published under Cement NewsZimbabwe’s deputy minister for industry and commerce, Chiratidzo Mabuwa, has welcomed PPC’s commitment to investing in the country as the company confirms that it expects its second mill, a 0.7Mta unit in Harare, to be commissioned in late 2016. According to reports in News Day, Ms Mabuwa told delegates at the Zimbabwe-South Africa Investment and Trade Initiative meeting in Bulawayo last week that PPC’s presence was a sign that the country was open for foreign investment. “The company ... |
Cimerwa looking to cut costs as it eyes export markets23 March 2016, Published under Cement NewsBusisiwe Legodi, Cimerwa's chief executive officer, has reaffirmed her company’s commitment to developing export markets in neighbouring Burundi and eastern DR Congo. Speaking in Kigali last week, Ms Legodi also said that Cimerwa – which is 51 per cent owned by South Africa’s PPC – were looking to cut costs. A report by Rwanda’s New Times newspaper quoted Ms Legodi as saying: “We import most of the raw materials, including gypsum and coal, which makes business expensive. We are, there... |
PPC eyes longer-term growth outside of Africa16 March 2016, Published under Cement NewsPPC has unveiled a new expansion strategy that envisages doubling the business every 10 years and growing beyond its traditional markets in Africa. In an investor presentation posted on PPC's website ahead of this week’s Merrill Lynch conference in Sun City, the company set out its ambitions for the future even as it warned of falling cement sales in the first months of FY16. In the presentation, PPC states that it is on course to raise capacity to 12.7Mta by 2018 (a 47.7 per cent inc... |