Displaying items by tag: Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: PPC Zimbabwe has appointed Albert Sigei as its managing director from the start of 2024. He succeeds Kelibone Masiyane in the post, according to the Chronicle newspaper. Masiyane was appointed as the managing director of the subsidiary of South-Africa based PPC in 2016, having joined the company in 1994 as a trainee electrical engineer at the Colleen Bawn Plant.

Sigei is currently PPC’s Head of Strategic Initiatives, a post he has held since February 2023. Before this he was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Cimerwa PPC in Rwanda from 2000. He worked for over 17 years for LafargeHolcim and its subsidiaries becoming the CEO of LafargeHolcim Malawi from 2016 to 2019 and the chief operations officer of the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) in Kenya in 2015. Earlier in his career he worked for PriceWaterhousCoopers. A graduate in mechanical engineering from the University of Nairobi, Sigei holds a number of qualifications in accountancy and business.

Zimbabwe: South Africa-based PPC says that it has completed a solar plant tendering process for its Colleen Bawn and Bulaweyo plants. Chief executive officer Roland van Wijnen said that a 30MW captive plant has been approved by the board, generation licenses have been approved and that the project site has been cleared ahead of construction.

Van Wijnen added that PPC continues to see Zimbabwe as a ‘strong market for the group’ despite some economic challenges, explaining “We took a relatively long operational stop to ensure our operations in the country are future-proof and improved from an environmental standpoint. The plant is now performing well from both an output and cost-per-tonne perspective. We knew our earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) would be reduced due to this operational stoppage. We have since stepped up production and reclaimed market share and we anticipate EBITDA to meet or exceed full year 2022 levels in full year 2024.”

Zimbabwe: South Africa-based PPC has raised its stake in PPC Zimbabwe from 71% to 90%. In an operating update, PPC told investors that PPC Zimbabwe increased its sales by 19% year-on-year in the five months to 31 August 2023. Meanwhile, the group’s South African business raised its sales by 58% year-on-year over the same period. PPC attributed the growth to cost reductions and price increases across both markets, as well as ‘exceptionally strong’ growth in its cement volumes in Zimbabwe. Overall, cement volumes rose by 3% year-on-year.

PPC was previously reported to be considering selling its entire PPC Zimbabwe stake for US$200m in February 2023.

Zimbabwe: Khayah Cement has appointed Arnold Zivanayi Chikazhe as its Company Secretary and Legal Advisor. He has acted as the company secretary of the company since May 2022, according to the Sunday News newspaper.

Chikazhe is a registered legal practitioner with over 15 years experience in various sectors, including retail, energy, mining, manufacturing, insurance, construction, health, public and non-governmental organisations both in Zimbabwe and the US. He holds legal qualifications from the University of Texas and the University of South Africa.

Zimbabwe: Sino-Zimbabwe Cement reported a burglary at its Gweru cement plant on the night of 12 – 13 August 2023. The Chronicle newspaper has reported that eight robbers attacked security guards with sticks, before stealing blasting equipment from the plant’s quarry. The gang was reportedly also armed with machetes. Police investigations continue.

South Africa: PPC has published its Integrated Report for its 2023 financial year, which ended on 31 March 2023. The producer recorded revenues of US$559m, up by 0.2% year-on-year from US$557m in the 2022 financial year. Its cost of sales declined by 0.1% to US$471m from US$472m. As a result, PPC's loss widened by a factor of more than seven, to US$32.5m from US$4.36m.

PPC's cement volumes fell by 5.8% in South Africa and Botswana, where its cement prices rose by 8%. The company noted sustained 'good demand' for cement in coastal South Africa. It said that demand was 'robust' in Zimbabwe, however its local sales volumes fell by 16% on account of an extended kiln shutdown at one of its cement plants during the half. In Rwanda, PPC's subsidiary CIMERWA increased its cement volumes by 1%.

Zimbabwe: Khayah Cement (formerly Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe) commissioned a new vertical roller mill at its Manresa cement plant on 6 July 2023. The Chronicle newspaper has reported that the project constituted Phase 2 of Khayah Cement's expansion to the plant.

South Africa: PPC has advised investors that its full-year 2023 results will show a more-than-doubling of its headline loss per share from continuing operations. The group said that its cement sales volumes in South Africa and Botswana fell by 5.8% year-on-year, while volumes in Zimbabwe dropped by 16%. Its subsidiary Cimerwa increased its cement sales volumes during the year by 1%. Despite the local decline in volumes, PPC increased its revenues in South Africa and Botswana by 1.7%. South Africa and Botswana cement sales constituted 46% of group revenues, Zimbabwe cement sales 17% and Rwanda cement sales 15%.

Zimbabwe: South Africa-based PPC is reportedly considering selling PPC Zimbabwe for US$200m. The Zimbabwe Independent newspaper has reported that the group received an unsolicited offer from a local company.

PPC said “PPC’s board has a duty to assess any such approaches on their respective merits.”

Zimbabwe: Livetouch Investments plans to build a new 200,000t/yr cement plant in Zvishavane, Midlands Province. The first phase of construction will reach completion in mid-2024 and cost US$20m. When subsequently commissioned, the plant will create 300 new jobs. The Chronicle newspaper has reported that the upcoming plant is situated close to Livetouch Investments' existing limestone resources.

Livetouch Investments' mananging director Kyle Wang said that the company is building the plant in order to reduce Zimbabwe's reliance on imports of cement, notably via Zambia. Zimbabwe already has a cement capacity of 2.6Mt/yr, but a cement demand of just 1.6Mt/yr.