SENS-AI
PPC Trading Statement Bullish

PPC LIMITED - Trading Statement for the six months ended 30 September 2026

PPC Ltd
Full analysis

What this filing means

PPC expects headline earnings per share for the six months to 30 September 2026 to land between 30.00 and 34.50 cents, up 20% to 38% on the 25 cents reported a year earlier. The pro forma figure, which strips out realised and unrealised foreign exchange losses on the RK3 hedging contracts, is guided at 35.00 to 40.50 cents. The rand strengthened against the US dollar during the period, so the hedge losses are an earnings headwind comprising realised and unrealised foreign-exchange losses, but the underlying earnings momentum from the 'Awaken the Giant' turnaround is what carries the improvement.

PPC expects its earnings per share for the six months to September to land between 30.00 and 34.50 cents, up from 25 cents a year earlier. The company hedged the cost of building its new Western Cape cement plant in dollars, and the rand got stronger, so those hedges lost money. Strip out those losses and the expected pro forma range of 35.00 to 40.50 cents suggests the underlying business improved even more — which supports the turnaround story, subject to the full results on 16 November.

Bull case

  • PPC expects EPS and HEPS of 30.00 to 34.50 cents for the six months ended 30 September 2026, versus 25 cents in the prior period.
  • Expected EPS and HEPS are 20% to 38% higher than the prior period.
  • Pro forma EPS and HEPS are expected at 35.00 to 40.50 cents, compared with 30 cents in the prior period.
  • After adjusting for foreign exchange losses, pro forma EPS and HEPS are expected to be 17% to 35% higher than the adjusted prior-period figures.
  • The US dollar exposure on RK3 construction was fully hedged to de-risk PPC’s balance sheet.

Bear case

  • The rand strengthened against the US dollar during the period, resulting in realised and unrealised foreign exchange losses.
  • The supporting financial information has not been reviewed or reported on by PPC's independent external auditor.
  • No cash-flow or balance-sheet data is disclosed.
  • No segmental or regional breakdown is disclosed, preventing assessment of where the earnings improvement arose.
  • No forward guidance or H2 outlook is provided.

AI-generated summary by SENS-AI, based on the original JSE SENS filing.

SENS-AI conclusion

A quantified preliminary earnings update with a clean underlying story. The 20%–38% HEPS growth is a fresh number for this period, and the pro forma range of 35.0–40.5 cents shows the improvement is not being manufactured by the FX line — it is being masked by it. The caveats are standard for a trading statement: no cash-flow or segment detail, and the figures are unaudited. So what: the direction is clearly positive, but the market still needs the 16 November results to confirm the earnings are cash-backed and the turnaround is durable.

The 16 November results are where the market will test whether the HEPS growth is backed by operating cash flow and where the improvement arose.

Evidence from the filing

  • PPC expects EPS and HEPS of 30.00 to 34.50 cents for the six months ended 30 September 2026, versus 25 cents in the prior period.

    “EPS and HEPS (cents) 30.00 to 34.50 25”

  • Expected EPS and HEPS are 20% to 38% higher than the prior period.

    “Based on the above, EPS and HEPS are expected to be between 20% and 38% higher than the EPS and HEPS reported for the prior period.”

  • Pro forma EPS and HEPS are expected at 35.00 to 40.50 cents, compared with 30 cents in the prior period.

    “EPS and HEPS (cents) – after pro forma adjustment * 35.00 to 40.50 30**”

  • After adjusting for foreign exchange losses, pro forma EPS and HEPS are expected to be 17% to 35% higher than the adjusted prior-period figures.

    “After adjusting for the after-tax impact of these losses, the pro forma EPS and HEPS are expected to be between 17% and 35% higher than the pro forma EPS and HEPS for the prior period (as adjusted for the realised and unrealised foreign exchange losses on the FEC Contracts).”

  • The US dollar exposure on RK3 construction was fully hedged to de-risk PPC’s balance sheet.

    “The US dollar exposure on the construction of RK3 was fully hedged to de-risk PPC’s balance sheet.”

  • The rand strengthened against the US dollar during the period, resulting in realised and unrealised foreign exchange losses.

    “During the current period the rand strengthened against the US dollar, and foreign exchange losses (both realised and unrealised) were incurred.”

  • The supporting financial information has not been reviewed or reported on by PPC's independent external auditor.

    “The financial information on which this trading statement is based is the responsibility of the directors of PPC and has not been reviewed or reported on by the group's independent external auditor.”
Category
Trading Statement
Event posture
Constructive
Published
Nov 5, 2026

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