Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) advised on Wednesday that its earnings per share and headline earnings per share for the six months ended March 2011 are expected to be between 35% and 40% lower compared to the previous corresponding period.

The company said the decrease was mainly attributable to the negative impact of a challenging business environment on sales volumes, selling prices and input costs across all its operations.

The company previously advised in a trading statement on 22 March that its financial results for the six months ended March 2011 would decrease by more than 30%.

PPC will release its interim results on 17 May.