2016 CON FINAL LOW

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD AUGUST 2016
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Group EBITDA was up 2% to R1,1-billion
largely due to improved efficiencies and
cost savings which resulted in reduced
administration and other operating expenditure.
The Profit Improvement Programme (PIP),
which aimed to deliver R400-million by 2017,
generated R178-million for the period after
providing R212-million by September 2015.
PPC’s total cement sales volumes for the
six-month reporting period were 1% below last
year. In South Africa, cement volumes were up
by 1% although lower selling prices reduced
revenue. While revenue in the lime business
declined 12%, aggregates and readymix opera-
tions contributed positively to group revenue.
CIMERWA, PPC’s new operation in Rwanda,
achieved sales volumes of 124 000 tons at
the expected EBITDA margin, adding nearly
R200-million to group revenue for the reporting
period to 31 March 2016.
Group cost of sales were only 2% higher
following the inclusion of CIMERWA in Rwanda,
with cost increases particularly well managed
in the South African and Botswana cement
businesses as well as in the lime division. Cost of
sales in the South African cement business was
down 3%, on a per ton basis, while administration
and overhead costs fell 12% for the period.
PPC’s expansion strategy, embarked on
in 2010 to extract value from high-growth
economies, is progressing well. Projects in the
DRC, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia are all over 70%
complete and due to be commissioned in the
next 12 months with ramp up to the required
production capacity to take approximately
three years.
Darryll Castle, CEO of PPC, commented:
“We are pleased with the cost savings achieved
across the business during this period. We have
a deliberate approach to navigating the current
economic landscape by driving cost efficiencies
and leveraging our capabilities to achieve oper-
ational excellence.
“Our strategy to expand into a diverse pan-
African player is starting to bear fruit as
evidenced by CIMERWA’s positive contribution
to group revenue. The three African expansion
projects to be commissioned in the next 12
months will provide us with the necessary head-
room to cushion us against macroeconomic
movements and operational risks including
increasing competition.”
To enable PPC to effectively execute its new
strategy, a few changes have been made to the
group’s operating architecture. PPC Aggregates,
Pronto Readymix, Ulula Ash and PPC Lime have
been consolidated into a materials business and
a new commercial division with a dedicated
project management office has been introduced.
The materials business division which is
focused on expanding PPC’s product range
and service offering in aggregates, readymix,
fly ash, lime and related businesses has made
good progress including the imminent acquisi-
LIFTING ITS FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
PPC Ltd recently announced its
reviewed provisional results for
the six month period to
31 March 2016, after the
Board approved the change of
financial year end from
30 September to 31 March.
tion of 3Q Mahuma Concrete, the largest inde-
pendently owned readymix concrete supplier in
Southern Africa.
“PPC is fundamentally strong and profitable
with a solid operating base. We have a deliberate
approach to navigate the current economic
landscape by driving cost efficiencies; leveraging
our capabilities to achieve operational excellence
and completing our sizeable projects.
“With a view to the long term, we are equally
deliberate about getting the company future-
ready to partner with and enable economies
across Africa achieve their growth imperatives,”
added Castle.
Darryll Castle, CEO of PPC.
Membership is only given to
those construction claims
professionals who have the
necessary education, qualifications,
experience and competence that
meet this industry’s high standards.
Müller is a specialist in preventative
claims management and prepa-
ration with more than 16 years of
experience and has been supporting
clients on different types of large
esteemed projects in Brazil, Dubai,
Lebanon, Qatar, all over Europe
and Africa.
The primary goal of the ICCP is
to create professional standards for
its members so that they can gain
recognition within the industry as
qualified and experienced profes-
sionals who deal with construction
claims. Construction claims have
become an integral part of the
international construction industry.
Dealing with these claims requires a signifi-
cant amount of experience and expertise.“On
average, all projects have a claim potential of
approximately twenty percent of which fifty
percent are recognised too late or not at all”,
states Müller.
“The level of claims administration
applied impacts directly on the level of
success in identifying and addressing the
risks and chances inherent in any given
project”, he adds.
Claims managers that prepare or respond
to claims have a well-established knowledge
of construction methods and are knowl-
edgeable in contract interpretation and
contract law.
Various international professional bodies
exist in the construction industry such as
the ICE for civil engineers (SAICE) and CESA
for civil engineering companies, the Project
Management Institute for project managers,
RICS for chartered surveyors, RIBI for Archi-
tects and Quantity Surveyors International.
The Institute of Construction Claims Prac-
titioners’ goals specifically are to give recog-
nition to construction claims specialists but
also to establish and develop international
standards for the management of claims.
SPECIALIST RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
Stefan Müller, managing director of the construction claims specialist
company, GibConsult, is the first South African member of the
international Institute of Construction Claims Practitioners (ICCP).
Stefan Müller, managing director of GibConsult,
specialist in claims management, and first South
African member of the Institute of Construction
Claims Practitioners.
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