Johannesburg – PPC the cement maker that is currently in talks with possible suitors. They renegotiated the bulk of its debt obligations in South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo as their operation in the DRC is starting to bring more income.
PPC’s acting CEO Johan Claassen said in a call, “Five months ago we felt like jumping off a cliff, but today we can go on holiday with a bit of a smile. We have managed to take a step back to address our debt maturity profile and liquidity, and to get our African operations back to the original business plans that we envisaged.”
PPC is being approached by a number of buyers including South African rival such as AfriSam.
During a phone call Tinashe Kambadza who is an enquiry analyst at AfriFocus said, “Even though there might be a need for consolidation in the cement market in the future, from these results I’m pleased the core business is showing resilience.”
Kambadza also went on to say, “PPC is cutting costs, has reduced debt, and the growth in rest of Africa is above our estimates.”
“In the short-term we probably do not need to do a deal,” said Claassen.
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