Johannesburg - Africa's third-biggest cement maker by value Pretoria Portland Cement [JSE:PPC] reported a 24% fall in full-year profit, underscoring a bleak outlook for the industry in its core South African market. PPC, which also makes lime and aggregates, said on Tuesday diluted headline earnings per share totalled 163.8 cents in the year to September compared with 215.6c a year earlier.
Sales were flat at R6.8bn, highlighting slack demand.
South African cement sales are up 2.1% for first nine months of the year, Cement & Concrete Institute's data show, as the industry struggles to recover after a building boom in the run-up to the 2010 soccer World Cup.
PPC, which competes with larger Nigeria's Dangote Cement on the continent, has been looking for new revenue streams across Africa to offset sluggish demand at home.
The company is one of the two final bidders to buy a 58% stake in Democratic Republic of Congo's state-owned cement producer, Cimenterie Nationale. It has bid $44m for the stake.
PPC also said it was pursuing a further three opportunities across the poor but fast-growing continent.
Shares in the company are down more than 30% so far this year, lagging a flat JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index and 14% decline in Dangote Cement.