Heavy rains last month had also disrupted sales, resulting in fewer sales days compared with the same period last year.
But demand for cement from infrastructure projects was expected to keep cement sales strong, which should help offset the decline being experienced in sectors such as residential building, the company said.
It said sales in predominantly rural provinces had remained stronger than in urban areas as expansion in rural retail outlets continued. Rural demand now accounted for about 30% of the group's total regional sales.
Gauteng and the Western Cape experienced the sharpest declines in sales during the period, recording 17.7% and 20.9% falls respectively. Sales in Mpumalanga and Botswana, however, remained strong and supported group regional sales, with demand up 7.3% and 13% respectively.
PPC said the demand for cement regionally would remain reasonably resilient as a result of infrastructure projects.
“The positive growth trend in gross fixed capital formation is likely to continue for sometime given the infrastructure backlogs in the region and long-term investment plans to overcome them,” the company said.
It said the government's R787bn planned infrastructure expenditure programme over the next three years, as well as expected interest rates cuts would remain key macroeconomic drivers for cement demand. Interest rates are now down 1.5% from their peak and analysts have forecast a 300-basis-point cut between March and June, which PPC said should “re-stimulate residential market from the second half of the year onwards”.
The residential building sector, which is sensitive to interest rates, has suffered the worst knock from the global economic slowdown.
“A total of R415bn worth of new projects or revisions to projects has been announced in the past six months.”
Demand for low-cost housing in particular was expected to boost cement sales after the government set aside R45bn last month for housing.
Source: Business Day
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