Awakening a 130-year-old South African giant

Cement manufacturing giant PPC has made tremendous strides in turning the company around using its ‘Awaken the Giant’ strategic plan, with the wins set to keep coming in its 2026 financial year.

In an operational update for the 10 months through January 2026, PPC told shareholders that its turnaround was deliberately ambitious, designed to rebuild the company’s iconic status by restoring competitiveness and long-term value creation.

This ambitious plan has paid off, with the company projecting revenue growth of 4% over the ten-month period and EBITDA growth of 32%.

PPC’s Adjusted EBITDA for the ten-month period, which excludes the profit made on a non-core property sale, is expected to increase by a still-impressive 22%.

The company’s absolute EBITDA margin is set to increase to between 19.4% and 21%, marking a change of between 2.8 and 4.4 percentage points.

PPC explained that the increase in revenue was driven mainly by the growth in its Zimbabwe operations, while the South Africa and Botswana group revenue remained much the same.

The South African volumes increased by approximately 2%, but this was offset by a decline in Botswana volumes.

However, its EBITDA increase is attributed to effective growth in both PPC’s South African and Zimbabwean operations.

“Operational results improved materially for the second consecutive year, as the turnaround plan benefits continue to materialise,” the company said.

“The focus on quality returns and cash generation remains relentless, reflecting in the underlying performance of the business.” 

PPC’s free cash flow in the South African group, which excludes dividends from Zimbabwe and investment expenditure on its new plant in the Western Cape, amounted to R567 million in the 10-month period. 

This represents a reduction from R692 million in the comparable period due to a temporary increase in inventories, which is due to the timing of planned maintenance shutdowns, some of which will occur in March 2026. 

“The increase in working capital will unwind as planned maintenance activities are completed,” the company said.

Despite heavy investment in its new Western Cape plant, named RK3, PPC reported that its South African group was in a net cash position of R367 million, a significant improvement from R106 million at 31 January 2025.

Similarly, PPC Zimbabwe delivered a robust step change in its free cash flow generation, leading to a substantial increase in total dividends declared and paid of $36 million (R595 million), compared to $8 million (R142 million) in the comparable period. 

PPC Zimbabwe has also remained debt-free and held $7 million in unencumbered cash as of 31 January 2026.

Looking forward, PPC said this strong 10-month performance means the company is well-positioned to continue executing its strategy in the years to come.

“Growth in FY26 earnings is on top of the robust improvement achieved in FY25,” the company said. 

“In accordance with previous guidance, these improvements are expected to be consolidated in FY27, with FY28 anticipated to deliver a further step change as the benefits of the new RK3 plant are fully realised.”

“The Awaken the Giant strategy is delivering ahead of plan, and importantly, it is a strategy not only focused on consistent execution and delivery, but also on building sustainable long-term value.”