PPC says 70% of sales in Zimbabwe now in forex

PPC Africa got a US$4.4 million dividend from its Zimbabwe operations in June, and says cement demand in the country remains solid despite three price increases this year.

The country’s biggest cement company says 70% of its sales are now in US dollars.

PPC raised its prices in US dollars by 5% in March, 2% in April 2022, and 5% in August.

Despite this, sales still remained strong, driven by homebuilders and government contracts.

“The cement market in Zimbabwe continued to show robust high single-digit growth as a result of both residential construction and government-funded infrastructure projects,” the company says in an update for the five months to August.

“PPC Zimbabwe implemented planned maintenance at the beginning of FY23 and recorded a 7% decline in cement sales volumes period-on-period. However, the resumption of clinker manufacturing by PPC Zimbabwe at the end of May 2022 enabled improved sales volumes in the second quarter of FY23.”

The company’s sales figures show the widespread usage of US dollars in the market.

“PPC noted increased availability of foreign currency in the Zimbabwean economy, with more than 70% of cement sales during the period under review occurring in foreign currency. PPC received a US$4.4 million dividend in June 2022 and anticipates an additional dividend to be declared upon the publication of PPC Zimbabwe’s interim results in November 2022.”

Earlier this year, PPC reported that cement consumption in Zimbabwe has grown to 1.4 million tonnes per year, from below one million tonnes in 2017. PPC expects demand to reach 1.6 million tonnes next year.

PPC has previously said it was supplying public projects that include; the Hwange power station expansion, the completed Muchekeranwa Dam, Gwayi-Shangani Dam, the new Manyame Air Base Hospital, National University of Science and Technology (NUST) student accommodation, RG Mugabe International Airport, the Beitbridge-Harare highway and the Beitbridge Border Post expansion.-NewZWire

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Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.