By 2020, PPC was confronting the consequences of overreach. Once an industrial bellwether in South Africa, it was burdened by complex operations and constrained liquidity. The promise of regional expansion was hampered by structural realities: currency restrictions, debt accumulation and a disjointed operating model.
Rather than mask the crisis with optimism, PPC adopted a humbler, more effective course to strip complexity, focus locally and build resilience from the inside out. The mandate — survive, simplify, stabilise — was austere, but essential. It marked the beginning of a rare kind of self-honesty in corporate strategy.
By 2025, PPC’s discipline was showing results. Liquidity exceeded R870m. Net cash of R229m returned to the balance sheet. Capital spending stayed beneath depreciation — a clear sign of capex discipline.
Return on invested capital approached 9%. Importantly, this recovery wasn’t showy; it was methodical. International operations were strategically ring-fenced. The focus had narrowed, but productivity had sharpened.
What distinguishes PPC’s turnaround from typical corporate narratives is not only its discipline, but its brutal honesty. Under CEO Matias Cardarelli, the company introduced a strategic framework that didn’t sugar-coat where it was failing.
The slogan “Awaken the Giant” is more than a vision — it’s a confession. It maps out the company’s internal strengths and deficiencies with startling transparency. Few executives would risk such openness. Even fewer would use it to unify their organisation.
Cardarelli’s team assigned itself scores across operational themes — logistics, cost control, marketing and commercial execution. Procurement efforts and portfolio rationalisation were progressing. But commercial flexibility, margin focus and inventory efficiency still lagged. This wasn’t PR spin. It was a management dashboard made public.
And it told investors something profound: this leadership knows not just where it wants to go, but exactly where it stands. That level of strategic self-awareness is increasingly rare.
There is a quiet strength in leadership that doesn’t reach for superlatives. Cardarelli’s posture has been grounded, data-driven and blunt. PPC is not pretending to be what it isn’t. Instead, it’s focused on becoming something credible: a leaner, tighter, more resilient enterprise with real control over its margin levers.
The decision to invest R3bn in a new Western Cape plant, co-developed with Sinoma Overseas Development Corp, is emblematic of this realism. It’s a bold move — but not a reckless one. Positioned strategically for logistical and pricing advantages, the plant is a long-term play for operational defensibility. It’s a hedge against margin erosion, not a return to empire-building.
PPC’s strategic crossroad came with a familiar dilemma. After stabilising its balance sheet, would it return cash to shareholders — or double down on operational investment?
It chose the latter, opting to defer dividends in favour of long-term margin security. With cost of capital hovering at about 12% and no disclosed internal rate of return for the plant, the risk was clear. But so was the intent. PPC was no longer optimising for sentiment; it was optimising for sustainability.
Cement isn’t just heavy in trucks — it’s heavy in fixed costs, logistics, energy and time. The real opportunity in this industry isn’t in price hikes; it’s in margin architecture.
PPC has begun rebuilding this architecture. Freight logistics, long outsourced, are being pulled in-house. Early cost savings have already been realised and recorded. But the ambition extends far beyond trucks. It’s about owning the rhythm of its own supply chain, from quarry to customer.
Importantly, this recovery wasn’t showy; it was methodical
Power remains a key volatility risk. Eskom remains dominant, but investments in solar and refuse-derived fuels are steadily transforming PPC’s energy profile. If control is margin insurance, vertical integration is the premium.
Internally, the cost breakdown tells the story. Raw materials and production supplies represent 21% of the stack. Power adds 14%. Distribution, a constant pressure point, is 17%. Add inbound transport at 9% and maintenance and CW at 12%, and PPC’s margin is exposed to multiple intermediaries.
Meanwhile outside South Africa, Zimbabwe remains a source of revenue and volatility. Currency controls limit repatriation, but in the hands of a strategically minded leadership team they’ve become something else too: a testing ground.
By keeping the asset operational, PPC gains live insights into navigating complexity in emerging markets. These insights could one day become the blueprint for a second attempt at African expansion — one rooted not in ambition, but in tested resilience. Zimbabwe may not be PPC’s growth engine, but it could become its strategic compass.
PPC’s past foray into African markets was bold, but premature and badly executed. Yet the vision behind it remains as relevant as ever.
Look no further than Dangote Cement. Through relentless integration and control, it turned cement — an industry few call exciting — into a continental powerhouse. Aliko Dangote didn’t chase glamour. He chased cash flow and, in doing so, became Africa’s richest man.
PPC doesn’t need to copy that story. But it can be inspired by its structure. The company has the chance to build a South African fortress: a vertically integrated, operationally dominant model that can be duplicated — carefully — when the time is right.
Today, PPC’s valuation feels fair. But valuation tells only part of the story. The other part — more important for long-term investors — is narrative integrity.
Cardarelli and his team are not overpromising or overreaching. PPC is not a Buffett stock. It’s not glamorous. It’s not margin-rich. But it might become one of the most compelling operational turnaround stories in South African industrials.
Jeandre Pike
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