Cement volumes continued to reflect good growth as the South African economy entered a fifth year of sustained economic growth. Regional cement sales volumes grew 10% over last year with the residential and nonresidential construction sectors performing strongly. The Inland market experienced particularly strong growth, with cement supply supplemented by the PPC factories in Zimbabwe and the Western Cape.

330 000 tons of cement manufactured to Surebuild specifications was imported from China, which supplemented the Coastal markets of Mozambique, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. Imports represented approximately 5% of total sales.

Operating and trading conditions became increasingly more difficult as the country reeled under inflation rates increasing into the thousands, together with price “roll-back” and freeze. Declining domestic demand and a selling price which is insufficient to cover production costs require us to increasingly focus on exports to sustain operations.

The ongoing inability to exercise effective control justifies the continued non-consolidation of this company’s results.

Local volumes were at similar levels to last year, whereas the volume at the Kgale quarry in Botswana increased substantially following the closure of a competitor. All operations benefited from the continued focus on price optimisation.

Unfortunately due to prevailing market conditions, the readymix business in Gaborone was exited.