Cement News tagged under: Zimbabwe
PPC24 August 2016, Published under Cement NewsFollowing S&P Global Ratings slashing PPC’s rating to ‘junk’, PPC shareholders have unanimously approved a ZAR4bn (US$285m) capital raising to help relieve short-term pressure on the company’s balance sheet. PPC’s debt is expected to reach ZAR10-12bn by 2017. This comes hot on the heels of news that the company’s share price has halved during 2016 so far to ZAR7.92. Despite this, the company’s new plant in Zimbabwe remains on track for completion this year. Riots in the country and restri... |
Zimbabwe: Future of proposed Charumbira plant remains uncertain05 August 2016, Published under Cement NewsPlans to build a US$50m cement plant in Charumbira have been called into question after it was admitted that the Chinese investor behind the project had yet to submit a feasibility report. The plant is to be built by the Sino Zimbabwe Cement Company, which saw a 15 per cent fall in sales in the first quarter of 2016. According to reports in News Day, provincial administrator Felix Chikovo said: “The point of entry before any mining commences or any people are resettled is based on a re... |
PPC Zimbabwe plant project on track03 August 2016, Published under Cement NewsAccording to CEO, Darryll Castle, the construction of PPC’s new plant in Zimbabwe remains on track for completion in 2016, despite riots in the country and restrictions remaining on some South African goods. The new mill, with an expected capacity of 0.7Mta, is crucial to reducing the company’s costs, Mr Castle said. "Even if the volume is not required because Zimbabwe’s economy slows, the project still makes sense from a cost-optimisation process." This project in Zimbabwe is one of four... |
PPC29 June 2016, Published under Cement NewsIn the six months ended 31 March, 2016, PPC saw its group revenue dip by one per cent to ZAR4.5bn (US$294.01m). Group EBITDA was up by two per cent to ZAR1.1bn with an EBITDA margin of 25.4 per cent, mainly due to improved efficiencies and cost savings as part of the company’s Profit Improvement Programme. The programme, which aims to deliver ZAR400m by 2017, generated ZAR178m in the six months in question, taking the running total to ZAR390m. According to the company, this has mainly been a... |
Dangote Cement25 May 2016, Published under Cement NewsDangote could come under fire from calls for the Zimbabwe government to impose tariffs on imported cement. The country’s local producers have expressed concern that the influx of cheap imports could make recouping their investments difficult. PPC, for example, has invested US$53m on kiln and mill upgrades and quarry optimisation at its two existing operations and is in the process of setting up a new grinding plant at a cost of US$80m. Meanwhile, Sino Cement has spent a total of US$15m in... |
Zimbabwe: Sino Zimbabwe sales decline16 May 2016, Published under Cement NewsSales for Sino Zimbabwe Cement Company (SZCC) have declined by 15 per cent in the first quarter, in comparison with the same period last year. A further decline in sales this quarter has been projected by the company, which has cited a difficult operating environment and liquidity problems as some of the reasons for the decline. Wang Yong, SZCC managing director, said that the situation had been worsened by the smuggling of cheaper cement, mainly from South Africa. He also said a poor agr... |
Zimbabwe: Dangote investment16 May 2016, Published under Cement NewsNigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has said he will not rescind on the decision to invest in Zimbabwe, despite negative reports concerning the country’s economy. Mr Dangote said in an interview that he currently has a team in Zimbabwe finalising logistics and making preparations to begin operations. His conglomerate intends to set up a cement manufacturing plant capable of producing 1.5Mt per year, whilst also investing in power generation and coal mining. Mr Dangote has already secured th... |
Zimbabwe: firms face closure13 May 2016, Published under Cement NewsDue to an influx of cheap imported products in Zimbabwe, local cement producers have warned of a possible scaling down of operations and closures, saying protectionist measures are needed to save the industry. In a recent position paper presented to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce by the Cement and Concrete Institute of Zimbabwe, local cement manufacturers have called for the government to ban imported cement, among other interventions, saying the market is oversupplied. Some measu... |
Zimbabwe: Lafarge Cement records 2015 loss22 April 2016, Published under Cement NewsLafarge Cement Zimbabwe has said that expects to see a return to profitability in 2016 after recording a loss of US$1.9m in 2015. Announcing its results for the year, Lafarge blamed the economic conditions in the country, including the liquidity crunch and the poor agricultural season. This Day quotes a company spokesperson as saying "We expect the general trading environment to exert sustained pressure on prices due to the ongoing economic stress. However, we anticipate improved profi... |
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... |