Afrimat more than halves H1 HEPS

Afrimat, a leading open-pit mining company, recently released its first-half results, which showed a significant decrease in headline earnings per share (HEPS). Joining CNBC Africa to discuss these results and the company's future plans was Andries van Heerden, the CEO of Afrimat. Van Heerden explained that the decrease in HEPS was mainly due to a challenging first half, where the company faced various issues such as a force majeure event at a major customer and the acquisition of Lafarge, which required significant efforts to turn around. Despite these challenges, van Heerden remains optimistic about the future, citing strong growth prospects for the company's existing business and the positive impact of the Lafarge acquisition. He highlighted the importance of unlocking the value in the newly acquired business and continuing to improve the performance of their mining operations. Van Heerden also mentioned the positive signs of growth in certain provinces and sectors, indicating a promising outlook for Afrimat's future endeavors.