An overview of 2024

The group delivered an acceptable financial result for 2024 considering the tough market conditions. As expected at the time of release of the group's half year end results for 2024, the second half of the year was more challenging than the first half with markets slowing down further. The impact of a 17% reduction in revenue and lower production volumes in the second half of the year are evident in the full year financial results. In response to the challenging environment, the group increased its focus on working capital management, cost containment and cash preservation and this will continue into 2025.

As the high levels of demand experienced in 2023 in mining and construction in the groups major markets slowed down in 2024, the group right sized its sales projections and reduced production volumes to the new levels of demand. The slowdown was especially evident in the group's northern hemisphere markets, in North America and in the UK and Europe, where infrastructure spending diminished.

The market downturn meant that the requirement for working capital funding reduced. Through the year as the inventory levels reduced, so did the level of debt.

The group earned profit after tax of R471,1 million for the year, 41% down on R793,6 million earned for 2023, which was a record year. Earnings per share and headline earnings per share were 461 cents and 465 cents respectively (2023: earnings per share of 799 cents and headline earnings per share of 798 cents per share) for the year.