JSE-listed PPC's share price on the JSE fell by more than 21% on Monday as the company warned of a possible downgrade of its debt rating.
The company on Monday said it planned to raise between R3-billion and R4-billion in capital to reduce its debt and fund existing committed expansion capital expenditure and investment projects. It would reveal the terms of the capital raise when it publishes its 2016 financial results on June 14.
“PPC has consistently communicated that it is reviewing its balance sheet to provide for the 2016 and 2017 debt maturity profile and to put the company in a good position to execute its strategy.
“In addition, arising from its current and ongoing engagement with a particular credit ratings agency, PPC has reason to believe that the outcome of this engagement is a probable credit rating downgrade of PPC,” it noted.
The capital raising was expected to support PPC’s debt rating.
PPC's shares fell to R10.73 apiece on Monday, but closed the day at R11.25, compared with Friday's close of R13.72.