PPC announces improved financial performance

PPC’s earnings in the nine months to the end of 2017 tracked ahead of the previous year

, the cement company said in a recent operational update. The improvement comes on the back of improved revenue and good operational cost management, PPC said, despite higher corporate costs.The company also reported improved debt positions in December 2017 compared with three months earlier, while CAPEX was “significantly reduced” on 2016, while remaining “within the guidance given at the group’s interim results”.

“Group liquidity has benefitted from the recently announced, two-year capital moratorium negotiated with funders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),” PPC added. “Engagement with our EPC contracts regarding a possible equity holding is ongoing.”The cement maker was also in the “advanced stages” of negotiating terms around the refinancing and restructuring of its South African debt, maturing in June 2018.

In addition to its financial update, PPC said it remained on track to complete a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) transaction by the end of the financial year. BEE is a requirement under South African law to boost the involvement of previously disadvantaged groups in the economy.Meanwhile, the company recently appointed Dawn Earp as an independent non-executive director. A chartered accountant with industry experience in the resources sector across Africa, Earp is expected to be nominated to the audit committee