PPC mulls new markets as recent projects generate cash
PPC is weighing expansion into new markets as SA’s biggest cement maker seeks to draw a line under a tumultuous two years that included an emergency rights issue and takeover interest from competitors. Since taking the top job in July, CEO Johann Claassen had reviewed the company’s operations and balance sheet, with a particular focus on boosting liquidity and extending debt maturity, he said in an interview with Bloomberg "We had to steady the ship and make it sustainable," he said. "Now we need to get a new pipeline of projects." New investment would follow a R12bn outlay on five plants in the past half decade, which took PPC into countries including Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from its South African base. All are now in operation and generating cash, said Claassen, allowing the company to consider new facilities. East Africa is a particularly fast-growing region, while an abundance of projects in Ivory Coast implies a high demand for cement in the West Afr...
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