JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – South African cement company PPC Ltd reported a lower first-half headline earnings per share on Wednesday, hurt by a weaker Zimbabwean dollar and said it had started a review of its operations.
The company’s results were affected by the application of hyperinflationary accounting by PPC Zimbabwe, which it said complicated comparability at a group level.
Zimbabwe has suspended publication of annual inflation data until February, but economic analysts say the figure reached 440% last month. Many expect the country will miss its target of single-digit levels by the end of the first quarter of 2020.
“PPC has initiated a comprehensive strategic review and certain initiatives necessary for sustainable value creation are underway,” the company said.
PPC reported headline earnings per share (EPS) of 6 South African cents for the six months ended Sept. 30, compared to 21 South African cents a year earlier.
Headline EPS is the main profit measure for South African companies and removes certain one-off items.
The company’s group revenue for the six months fell 12% to 4.95 billion rand ($335.03 million) and there was a 17% decline in overall cement volumes. – Reuters
