Nqobile Dludla | JOHANNESBURG

South African cement maker PPC reported a 93 percent decline in full-year earnings on Wednesday due to a liquidity crisis precipitated by the cut in its credit rating to junk status.

PPC, which is still negotiating a possible merger with rival Afrisam, said headline earnings per share fell to 7 cents from 107 cents in the comparable period last year.

S&P Global Ratings (S&P) downgraded the company’s long- and short-term South African national scale corporate credit ratings to zaBB- and zaB respectively in May 2016.

(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Sunil Nair)