PRETORIA Portland Cement (PPC) says its local unit implemented US dollar price increases to cover input cost inflation and enhance margins during the year ended March 31, 2023.
During the year, the cement maker recorded a 19 percent decline in revenue while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation also declined by seven percent to R365 million compared to R393 million in the prior year.
“Volumes year-on-year were down 16 percent despite robust cement demand from concrete product manufacturers and government-funded infrastructure projects. This is due to the impact of the planned kiln shut down for maintenance which took place in the first half of the year, which negatively impacted the performance,” PPC said in an operational update.
The group said plant stoppages due to power interruptions negatively affected performance in the second half.