PPC Zimbabwe delivered record dividends to its shareholders, overcoming a drop in cement sales volumes over the 10 months to January.

PPC Africa received US$13 million in dividends from its Zimbabwean unit, up from US$11 million in the previous comparable period, despite a 9% drop in volumes. As of the end of January, PPC Zimbabwe was debt-free and held US$13 million in cash reserves.

“Following the strong cash generation in the current period, resulting in record dividends from PPC Zimbabwe and healthy cash flow generation in South Africa, the board will consider a dividend in line with its distribution policy. This policy provides for the pass-through of dividends received from PPC Zimbabwe to shareholders,” PPC Africa stated in a trading update.

Sales volumes in Zimbabwe declined by 9%, matching the trend for the half-year period. However, sales turned in January.

“Volumes declined 9% in the current period, consistent with the 9% decline at the half-year. This trend started improving in January 2025, which is encouraging given that both January 2024 and 2025 saw the same level of imports in the market,” PPC Africa noted.

Despite lower revenues, PPC Zimbabwe increased EBITDA by 6%, with margins improving by 4.4 percentage points from 21.6% to 26%, driven by cost-control.

Cement sales have been primarily supported by homebuilders, mining projects, and government infrastructure developments. However, the slowdown in many projects last year likely contributed to softer sales volumes.

PPC Zimbabwe has also been fighting off the threat of cement imports. In January, CEO Albert Sigei estimated that the industry was losing up to US$50 million annually due to cheaper imported cement.

The company operates two plants in Bulawayo and Harare, with a combined annual production capacity of 1.4 million tonnes, commanding more than half of Zimbabwe’s cement market. PPC Zimbabwe is installing two solar plants with a combined capacity of 30MW to power its operations, which have previously been disrupted by electricity shortages.

PPC has benefitted from government infrastructure projects that include; the Hwange power station expansion, the Muchekeranwa Dam, Gwayi-Shangani Dam, Manyame Air Base Hospital, NUST student accommodation, RG Mugabe International Airport, the Beitbridge-Harare highway and the Beitbridge Border Post expansion.