JSE-listed cement company PPC has informed shareholders that it expects to report increases in its earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) of at least 20% year-on-year for the financial year ended March 31.
The company on June 12 attributed the expected increases in EPS and HEPS to a strong performance by PPC Zimbabwe in the financial year under review, compared with a poorer performance in the 2023 financial year on the back of an extended kiln shutdown.
In addition, in the current period, PPC Zimbabwe changed its functional currency from the Zimbabwean dollar to the US dollar, which also had a positive impact given the elimination of net monetary losses of R131-million arising in the prior period as a result of hyperinflation accounting.
Meanwhile, owing to the disposal by PPC of its 51% shareholding in Rwandan cement company Cimerwa on January 25, Cimerwa’s results for the period April 1, 2023, to January 25, 2024, will be shown as discontinued operations, the company said.
The prior period’s comparative figures have accordingly been represented to exclude Cimerwa’s results and to disclose its results separately as discontinued operations.
Group EPS are expected to be 25c to 30c, compared with a 43c loss a share in the 2023 financial year.
Group HEPS are expected to be between 27c and 18.5c, an improvement over the 9c headline loss a share in 2023.
Continuing operations EPS had been revised to an expected 4c to 8c, up from a loss a share of 21c last year, while continuing operations HEPS were now expected to come in at between 16.5c and 20c, a significant step up from the loss a share of 20c in 2023.