Displaying items by tag: Botswana

South Africa: PPC expects its group cement sales volumes to increase by 4 - 8% year-on-year for the financial year to 31 March 2022 due to strong performance in Zimbabwe and Rwanda. In an operational update it said that sales revenue is also expected to rise by 11 – 15%. However, sales volumes and sales revenue growth was reported as slower in South Africa and Botswana due to strong demand due to home improvement projects during the previous period.

The cement producer noted that it had yet to experience any ‘meaningful uplift’ in cement sales following the government’s decision to only use locally produced on infrastructure projects. It said that cement sales in coastal regions of South Africa were behind those in the previous reporting year. It said that cement imports, mainly from Vietnam, increased by 11% and accounted for approximately 10% of the local market.

Botswana: Rachit Josh, the managing director of Matsiloje Portland Cement, says that the company hopes to restart production by the end of 2021. The cement producer is currently in talks with an investor to support the move by establishing a partnership, according to the Mmegi newspaper. Joshconfirmed that the company’s integrated cement plant is currently closed. The plant, which is owned by Nortex Textiles, closed in January 2018 due to competition from South African imports. When operational it produced around 30,000t/yr of cement.

South Africa: PCC recorded sales of US$332m in the first half of its 2021 financial year, up by 1% from US$328m in the first half of its 2020 financial year. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 15% to US$66m from US$58m. Cement volumes fell in South Africa by 5% and in Botswana by 10% due to 35% slump in total volumes in the first quarter. The company said that this was due to muted cement sales in April 2020 and May 2020 as a result of Covid-19-related trading restrictions in South Africa. Cement sales have since recovered with strong year-on-year growth since June 2020. The increase in volumes is primarily retail led. PPC also said that it is beginning to experience the positive impact of increased infrastructure spending.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Roland van Wijnen said, “I am pleased that we are once again able to serve our customers and play our part in keeping the economy going. My gratitude goes to my colleagues who have been working diligently to keep our operations running while observing stringent health and safety protocols. Our business has benefited from a strong recovery in cement sales in all our markets, post the easing of the lockdown restrictions, and this has resulted in improved financial performance for the group. Our efforts to improve cost competitiveness and reposition PPC on a sound financial footing are yielding encouraging results and we are making good progress on our capital restructuring project, which remains a key priority for the group.”

Botswana: PPC Botswana has taken up a slogan of the Botswana government in encouraging Botswanans to “Buy Botswana” in order to reduce their import bills and utilise local suppliers post-coronavirus lockdown. The Sunday Standard newspaper has reported that, after the economy shrank by 13% since the start of the coronavirus lockdown, PPC announced that it would “continue engaging with more stakeholders on the road to economic recovery.” Regarding the possibility of layoffs in the company, PPC Botswana managing director Tuelo Bolthole said, “The situation is still very fluid, therefore it is difficult to tell whether it will reach that point. We however believe that our workforce is an important asset.” The company is currently producing cement at 100% of its capacity in anticipation of pent-up demand.

Botswana: Rachit Josh, the managing director of Matsiloje Portland Cement, say that the company will struggle to reopen without government support to block imports. The cement producer closed its plant at Matsiloje, near Francistown in January 2018, according to the Monitor newspaper. Josh blamed cement imports from South Africa as being a particular concern.

In June 2018 the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment said it was starting to introduce restrictions on imports restricting imports to 70% locally sourced product. However, it is unclear when these measures will be implemented.

Matsiloje Portland Cement is a subsidiary of Nortex Group. Its integrated plant had a production capacity of 30,000t/yr. The company produced the lime it used for its cement and it sourced other raw materials from South Africa and fly ash from a power station at Morupule.

Botswana: The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry plans to restrict imports of cement following the introduction of new legislation. It will require 70% of cement to be sourced from local producers with only 30% allowed to be imported, according to the Weekend Post newspaper. The Control of Goods, Prices and Other Charges Act was announced in April 2018. An import permit scheme is scheduled to start in September 2018. The new regulations are intended to regulate trade with South Africa better.

South Africa: PPC’s profit rose due to strong performance in Zimbabwe and Rwanda. Its gross profit rose by 3% year-on-year to US$174m in the financial year that ended on 31 March 2018 from US$169m in the same period in 2017. Its revenue grew by 7% to US$762m from US$715m. However, its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 9% to US$140m from US$153m.

"Our performance has been resilient against the backdrop of challenging economic and political environments in markets in which we operate. While our rest of Africa operations, particularly Zimbabwe and Rwanda, achieved good results, our materials division faced reduced demand and increased competition. Our results have also been impacted by a number of significant abnormal items: corporate action, impairment of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) operations and restructuring costs,” said chief executive officer (CEO) Johan Claassen.

By region, the group’s sales in South Africa and Botswana fell slightly due to a fall in cement sales volumes of 2 – 3%. Imports rose by 32% although PPC said it was from a low base. Elsewhere in Africa, PPC’s sales volumes rose by over 50% supported by ‘robust’ volume growth in Rwanda and Zimbabwe. The group’s PPC Barnet cement plant in Democratic Republic of Congo was commissioned in November 2017.

PPC’s lime division increased its revenue by 2% to US$59m, with volumes and selling prices similar to 2017. Volumes were constrained by key steel-customer shutdowns and non-extension of a significant contract. Lime's EBITDA contracted by
18% after higher variable costs for maintenance and raw material inputs.