PPC's successful turnaround boosts margins and cash flow
The cement maker reported its strongest results since 2018.
Cement worker. Image: Lahoucine Boukhanchouch on Wikimedia Commons
Stephen Grootes speaks to Matias Cardarelli, CEO of PPC, about the company’s solid financial recovery.
Listen to the interview in the audio player below.
Cement-maker, PPC reported higher full-year earnings for the year ended March 31, its highest levels since the 2018 financial year.
The company embarked on a strategic turnaround plan, resulting in a 28% increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) to R1.59-billion.
Free cash flow jumped 306% from the R260-million reported in the prior year to R1.05-billion.
Profit before tax increased from R233-million last year to R774-million this year, while profit after tax increased from R88-million to R466-million.
Speaking to Stephen Grootes on The Money Show, Matias Cardarelli, CEO of PPC says instead of waiting for the market to recover, they looked for internal opportunities to unlock value.
"We found a lot. A lot of inefficiencies in the business. And we thought an opportunity to run the business differently to bring efficiencies and ultimately results."
- Matias Cardarelli, CEO - PPC
"One of the main financial indicators for me was that we were able to improve 4% points Ebidta margin in just one year, and to increase our cash flow generation in 306%. All the indicators show that it's possible to run PPC in a more efficient way, even in a scenario of growth or not growth."
- Matias Cardarelli, CEO - PPC
"We're focused on opportunities in our operation, although it's early stages of improvement, but we were able to achieve cost reduction in logistics...in our electrical consumption, we were able to better allocate our products and our product mix."
- Matias Cardarelli, CEO - PPC
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