Zimbabwe: PPC Reports Significant Financial Growth, With Ebitda Up Over 20 Percent

PPC's share price surged 3.6% on Monday morning to R5.16 after it reported a "marked improvement" in its financial performance for the four months to July 31, 2025.

The JSE-listed cement and aggregates maker for markets in South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe said in an update for the four months that their two-year-old "Awaken the Giant" turnaround strategy was gaining traction. This had resulted in further growth and margin expansion, on top of the improvement across key metrics achieved in the 2025 financial year.

Their strategy, being implemented in a weak macro-economic environment in South Africa, focuses on increasing long-term leadership and competitiveness, through enhanced profitability and cash flow.

In the four-months, group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by more than 20% over the comparable period a year before, and the EBITDA margin grew by over 2 percentage points, PPC's directors stated.

Sales volumes in South Africa and Botswana increased by 2% due to stronger retail sales and sales of clinker to PPC Zimbabwe.

The four-month EBITDA for South Africa and Botswana cement continued to see notable improvement, with the EBITDA margin significantly increasing from 10.3% to 17.7%.

"The timing of certain plant shutdowns contributed positively. As this normalises in the six months ending September 30, 2025, the South Africa and Botswana cement margin is expected to remain at around 17%," PPC's directors said.

In Zimbabwe, cement sales volumes increased by 22%, largely due to strong consumer demand and the positive impact of a 30% tariff on imported cement introduced in May 2025.

In the first two months of the current period, PPC Zimbabwe implemented an extended shutdown at its Colleen Bawn plant. This was planned as part of a three-year plant performance improvement plan to better position PPC Zimbabwe to produce higher own-clinker volumes for the production of cement, thereby supplying the growing demand in the market.

Read the original article on New Zimbabwe.