daniel chigunwe
Business Writer
PPC Zimbabwe continues to trade well and ahead of expectations bouyed by retail demand and massive government funded projects, parent company PPC Ltd has said in an operational update for the 12 months ending March 31, 2022.
According to the update released Wednesday, PPC Zimbabwe’s cement sales volumes are expected to increase by 21 percent-25 percent year-on-year, benefiting from retail demand, increased sales to concrete product manufacturers, and support from Government – funded projects.
The positive volume performance is despite the challenging operating environment that was characterized by Covid-19 induced lockdowns which caused supply chain disruption across sectors.
The performance also comes as competitor, Lafarge Cement, has had production issues, that could have boosted demand for PPC products.
Relative to the comparable period ended March 31, 2020 (Pre-Covid-19), cement sales volumes are expected to increase by 33 percent-36 percent, PPC Ltd said.
Going forward, PPC expects cement consumption across the industry, which has grown to 1.4 million tonnes per year, to reach 1.6 million tonnes next year.
Meanwhile, PPC Ltd expects total Group cement sales volumes for the period under review to increase by 4 percent-8 percent year-on-year, with double- digit volume growth in Zimbabwe and Rwanda.
South Africa and Botswana cement experienced low single digit growth in cement sales as volumes normalised from a high base.
Relative to the comparative prior year (Pre-Covid-19), Group cement sales are expected to increase by 11 percent-15 percent.
In the outlook, PPC Ltd said it is well-positioned to benefit from growing cement demand in the territories it operates.
The Group said it remains focused on improving operational efficiencies to ensure financial sustainability through all demand cycles.
Bongani Ndlovu