Displaying items by tag: South Africa

South Africa: PPC has announced that when the next round of PPC salary adjustments takes effect in October 2014, company CEO Ketso Gordhan would earn only 40 times more than his lowest-paid worker.

When Gordhan took over as CEO in January 2013 he was earning 120 times more than his lowest-paid worker. However, the company's drive to reduce the earnings differential had reduced this to a multiple of 48. This followed Gordhan's US$96,370 pay cut in October 2013, while the remuneration of his top 60 managers was frozen so that the wages of the cement maker's 1200 lowest-paid workers could be raised.

Gordhan said that he would not take a pay increase in October 2014 and PPC's other executives would be awarded increases of about 4.5 - 5%, less than the usual 6.5%. This would allow the minimum total pay package at PPC to be hiked to nearly US$1060. According to Gordhan, the 40-times multiple was seen by many as 'a justifiable spread.'

The company's new black economic empowerment (BEE) deal, which gives employees 12% share ownership in the company, could generate as much as US$193m for PPC's employees over five years if share price targets of US$5.78/share are reached.

The company's new BEE deal is a restructure of its 2008 deal, which was designed around broad-based trusts but was complicated and costly. The new BEE deal involves the issue of ordinary shares to the PPC Phakamani Trust and the issue of a new class of perpetual preference shares, to be used to raise capital to fund the unwinding.

South Africa: PPC has announced that in the first-half of its 2014 financial year, which ended in March 2014, its profit grew by 52% as the company consolidated its foreign units and increased its exports to counteract declining domestic sales.

Net income for the six months grew to US$47.2m from US$31.1m for the same period in 2013. Operating earnings before a number of one-time items rose by 3% to US$84.6m, while sales grew by 9% to US$398m.

Cement sales in South Africa were negatively impacted by a platinum mining strike and heavy rains during the period. Sales volumes in the north west of the country, where many of the platinum mines are located, fell by 25% in the first six months of PPC's reporting period and are not expected to recover in the near future.

"Improvements in export sales and the consolidation of sales from our Rwanda operation and newly-acquired Safika Cement business were partly offset by declining sales volumes in South Africa and Botswana," said chief executive Ketso Gordhan. PPC said that it remains optimistic that cement sales volumes will improve.

To combat a slow domestic market, PPC is expanding across Africa, including in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR), Zimbabwe, Algeria and Mozambique, to boost foreign sales to 40% by 2017.

PPC said that Zimbabwe's economic slowdown had caused 'in-country liquidity constraints,' resulting in a fall in cement demand. Despite the slowdown, analysts have said that the country's infrastructural deficit presents immense opportunities for cement makers. PPC is investing US$12.4m to expand its cement plant in the country and plans to construct a 0.70Mt/yr cement plant under its subsidiary, PPC Zimbabwe. PPC also plans to retire two 'less-efficient' mills at its Bulawayo plant. "The new mill in Harare gives a competitive advantage and a phased capital expenditure approach reduces risk," said Gordhan.

Gordhan said that PPC plans to construct a US$200m clinker plant on the border with Mozambique and a cement plant in Tete, Mozambique.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), PPC is investing US$280m to build a 1Mt/yr cement plant in the west of the country. The plant is currently under construction. PPC will assume 69% ownership of the plant, while the Barnet Group will own 21% and the International Finance Corporation will own 10%.

Hodna Cement Company, in which PPC has a 49% interest, plans to construct a 2Mt/yr cement plant near Sétif, Algeria to be constructed by China's Sinoma. "We are optimistic that we will be on site by the end of 2014," Gordhan said. Algerian cement demand is estimated at 22Mt/yr.

South Africa: Investors have confirmed that construction has started on a new 1Mt/yr cement plant by Mamba Cement in Northam, Limpopo. Nedbank Capital and the Bank of China Johannesburg are providing US$107m of debt capital to fund Mamba, according to Business Day. Equity was provided by majority shareholder Jidong Development Group, the China-Africa Development Fund and by Women Investment Portfolio Holdings.

Nedbank Capital's infrastructure, energy and telecommunications head Mike Peo said that construction had already started and the project was expected to be completed by 2016.

"We obviously had a very hard look at the South African cement market. This plant is very close to Johannesburg, a primary market, so the transport costs and the actual cost point at which it can compete is going to be very attractive," said Peo. He added that the outlook for cement demand was 'extremely good' driven by government's infrastructure plans and the provision of housing.

South Africa: PPC's new black economic empowerment (BEE) deal has shifted the beneficiary base from broad-based trusts to the company's employees themselves, using the 'proximity principle.' The new transaction will increase the company's staff ownership to 12%.

This follows a move in 2013 to close the income inequality gap through an executive pay freeze that bumped up the salaries of lower-paid workers. CEO Ketso Gordhan said that the company has spent time on the ground with its employees, who have shown an appreciation for being listened to. Whether PPC will follow this up with further executive pay cuts and freezes remains to be seen, though Gordhan has said that the company intends to reduce the wage differential further.

South Africa: The board of directors of Sephaku Holdings have announced that Johannes Wilhelm Wessels died on 23 March 2014. Wessels was an alternate director to Rudolph de Bruin since 2007 on the Sephaku Holdings board.

Wessels originally provided legal counsel on the emerging business structure in 2005 and he later joined Sephaku Holdings as Head of Corporate Affairs holding key responsibility for group legal counsel, transaction structuring advice and contractual negotiations. He led the process of the group's unbundling strategy and worked on the legal and tax aspects of the process. Wessels helped reposition the company from a multiple mineral exploration company to a construction and building materials focused company.

"Wes was pivotal in negotiating the relationship agreement with Dangote Industries PLC to establish Sephaku Holdings' partnership in South Africa's newest cement producer since 1934, Sephaku Cement. At the time of his untimely death Wes was also serving as a director of the Sephaku Cement board. We will always remember him for his astuteness, legal savvy, business acumen and spontaneous sense of humour," said Chief Executive Officer, Lelau Mohuba.

Algeria: South African cement firm PPC has announced that it will buy a stake in an Algerian cement company as part of its drive to boost sales outside its home market.

PPC said that it will buy a 49% stake in Hodna Cement, which plans to construct a US$350m plant in the country. PPC did not disclose how much the deal will cost, but said that it will be funded on a project finance basis, with 80% of the debt to be sourced from local Algerian banks.

"This project sees us entering yet another African country and gives us confidence that by 2017, 40% of PPC revenues will be earned outside of South Africa," said PPC CEO, Ketso Gordhan. PPC is also constructing cement plants in Ethiopia, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

South Africa: ARM Cement Ltd has yet to receive its directors' approval for a plan to construct a plant in South Africa.

"We have not approved any budget or plans at our board yet," said Pradeep Paunrana, managing director of ARM Cement. Mafikeng Cement, in which ARM has a 70% stake, plans to build a 3000t/day plant in South Africa.

ARM Cement is considering selling Eurobonds to help fund a planned US$300m expansion programme that will double cement production within four years, according to Paunrana.

African nations are investing heavily in the construction of ports, railways and power generation projects that will help to accelerate economic growth. Kenya's cement consumption has surged by 60% to 85.7kg/capita since 2009, while South Africa's has increased to 300kg/capita and Egypt's has reached 500kg/capita.

Both Dangote Cement and PPC have reminded the world about their development plans for sub-Saharan Africa. In the wake of PPC's yearly results on 19 November 2013 came a spotlight on the South Africa-based cement producer's international ambitions. Not to be outdone, Nigeria's Dangote Cement then put out a press release detailing all of its big development projects.

Dangote and PPC are set to go into direct competition when the Dangote subsidiary, Sephakhu Cement, opens its 3Mt/yr integrated cement plant at Aganang, North West province in early 2014. It will be the first time the Nigerian cement giant will be producing cement in the same country as its competitor in sub-Saharan Africa, PPC. The encounter will set the tone for the producers' next clash when they both open cement plants in Ethiopia in 2015.

Both the African cement producers are targeting a swathe of south to east sub-Saharan Africa from South African to Ethiopia. PPC, based in South Africa, has a presence in neighbouring Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It has bought stakes in cement producers in Rwanda, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has new cement plants on the way in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In contrast to PPC's more 'organic' growth strategy from an established base, Dangote, with its existing presence in west Africa is about to enter this region. It has new projects planned in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia, as well as in Ethiopia and South Africa.

To compare the financing behind each company's expansion, Dangote reported that it had committed US$884m for acquisitions in 2012. PPC intends to spend US$276m on capital expenditure in its 2014 financial year. If these figures from financial reports are correct, Dangote is spending three times as much as PPC on expansion. Dangote may have more money for expansion but PPC has long-standing presences in the region or has recently acquired them.

Dangote reported an 18% rise year-on-year in turnover to US$1.8bn in 2012. The same year its sales volumes increased to 10.4Mt from 8.66Mt in 2012. The company's installed cement production capacity was reported as 19.25Mt from three plants in Nigeria. In comparison, PPC reported a 13% rise in revenue to US$820m for its financial year to the end of September 2013. No exact cement productions figures were released but PPC said that cement sales increased by 7% in the period.

How Dangote and PPC spar in South Africa remains to be seen but one area where they may agree will be on imports. In its final results for 2013, PPC again highlighted the continuing threat of imports from Pakistan, mainly via Durban. Imports comprised 7.6% of national demand as of June 2013. In Nigeria in 2012 Dangote led successfully a campaign to cut foreign imports. Irrespective of increasing demand for cement, adding Dangote to the anti-cement import lobby in South Africa might well make space for a new producer.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement intends to reach a total cement production capacity of 50Mt/yr by 2016 which will make it Africa's largest cement producer. The company's chief executive, DVG Edwin, summarised production projects by the Nigeria-based cement producer: "Our plant in Senegal will soon be producing cement and our South African venture, Sephaku Cement, is well on track to open in early 2014. These two plants will be our first production ventures outside Nigeria as we aim to become Africa's leading supplier of cement," said Edwin.

Edwin revealed that construction work is underway at Mugher, Ethiopia for a 2.5Mt/yr cement plant. Operation is scheduled to begin in October 2015 at a 3Mt/yr gas-fired plant in Mtwara, Tanzania. Cement production is expected to start in mid-2014 at a 1.5Mt/yr in Ndola, Zambia. In Cameroon a 1.5Mt/yr grinding plant will be completed in the first half of 2014 and an integrated 1.5Mt/yr cement plant is expected to begin production in the second quarter of 2016. A 1.5Mt/yr cement plant in South Sudan and a 1.5Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Kenya are both set to become operational in 2016.

Along the coast of West Africa Dangote nears completion of import facilities to receive and bag bulk cement produced in Nigeria and Senegal. Additional import facilities in Sierra Leone are due to begin by the end of 2013 or early 2014.

In Liberia Edwin said that the order for equipment has been made for an import facility in Freeport Monrovia. Imports into Liberia are expected to commence in early 2015. The company plans to build a 1.5Mt/yr grinding plant in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, with operations projected to begin in early 2015. In Ghana, the company plans to open 1.5Mt/yr grinding plants in Tema and Takoradi by early 2015. Finally, Dangote cement has recently announced its intention to build an integrated 1.5Mt/yr plant in Niger.

South Africa: The South African Mamba Cement project, jointly funded by China's Jidong Development Group, the China-Africa Development Fund and a South African cement company, inked a deal regarding financing on 20 November 2013.

The project, with an investment of US$220m, is situated in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The capital fund of the project is US$100m, 51% of which is held by Chinese shareholders.

Unlike traditional overseas investment financing, Mamba received US$120m through project financing, which is based on the projected cash flow of the project rather than the balance sheets of its sponsors. This marked China's first successful investment through project financing in Africa. The loans are jointly provided by Nedbank South Africa and Bank of China's Johannesburg office.

Chen Ying, vice-president of China's Jidong Development Group, said that the success of the financing deal meant the South African bank's accreditation to Chinese companies. "Project financing offers Chinese companies a new way to make overseas investments," stated Ying.

The project includes a new cement clinker production line with an output of 1Mt/yr, a waste heat recovery (WHR) system with a generating capacity of 26.8MKW/hr and other supporting facilities. The electricity generation system together with the cement plant makes Mamba the first cement company in possession of WHR technology on the African continent.