Johannesburg — Pretoria Portland Cement, the South African cement maker with a strong presence in Zimbabwe, said full-year profit declined 9% as an Africa expansion plan failed to offset declining sales in the domestic market.
Net income was R849 million in the year through November, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement yesterday.
That compares with R931 million a year earlier and sales gained 9% to R9 billion.
The company cut the full-year dividend by 27% to 114c per share.
“Performance was hampered by industrial action on the platinum belt which had an adverse impact on trading conditions in South Africa,” the company said.
Cement sales volumes increased by 2% for the year. 
PPC shareholders will on December 8 vote on whether to replace the entire board after directors fell out with former chief executive Ketso Gordhan, who resigned in September.
The shares have declined 17% since September 19, the trading day before Gordhan’s resignation was announced, compared with a 2% fall on South Africa’s benchmark index.
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PPC is expanding in African countries where demand for cement outstrips supply and plans to have 40% of sales outside its home market by 2017.
Gordhan said earlier this month the company may struggle to continue the growth plan because a deal to obtain $200 million (R2,2 billion) of funding is close to collapse, a situation the company disputes.
PPC is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.
It has nine manufacturing facilities and three milling depots in South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe that can produce around eight million tonnes of cement products each year.
PPC has two operations in Zimbabwe in Colleen Bawn and Cement Siding near Bulawayo.
– Bloomberg News/Own Correspondent
