Latest news with #Cardarelli
Boston Globe
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘It's a love story.' Woman on way to Taylor Swift exhibit at Science Museum records riverside proposal
People have quickly compared the proposal to Jim and Pam's rain-soaked moment at a gas station from the American version of 'The Office' or the famous kiss scene between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in 'The Notebook.' 'I hope somebody finds them and tags them, this is the sweetest thing I've ever seen in my news feed,' one person commented. Advertisement Cardarelli arrived at the intersection of Memorial Drive and Amesbury Street just as the man began his proposal. The red light didn't turn green until she had said yes, she said. Cardarelli considered it fate. A clinical operations manager and an interior designer, Cardarelli had 'always' wanted to see a proposal, and this one was straight from a 'movie,' she said. 'I've never seen a proposal before, but always I've wanted to see one, which is why I got so excited,' Cardarelli said. 'That was like a storybook or like a fairy tale-type engagement.' Advertisement The video is muted on Instagram, but Cardarelli says 'Awwwwww' in the background while blink-182's 'All the Small Things' blared from her car's speakers. Teddy, her son, was desperate to understand what was going on, Cardarelli said. 'Can I see, can I see?' he asked his mother. Teddy had many questions afterward, Cardarelli said, like what was the man doing on one knee and why were they by the Charles River on a rainy day. Cardarelli's favorite part of the proposal was when the woman leaned back in for a 'second kiss.' 'It was an adorable proposal,' she said. Cardarelli and husband, Anthony, got engaged at her home in 2017, followed by an 'impromptu celebration' with friends and family.' 'I wouldn't say it was as magical,' Cardarelli said. 'It was magical,' Anthony objected in the background, as Cardarelli laughed. The couple in the video have yet to identify themselves on Instagram, but Cardarelli said she hopes they will see the video. 'You guys are adorable,' Cardarelli said she would tell them. 'I wish you the best of everything to come in life, and they look like they're a really cute couple.' As she continued driving down Memorial Drive, she saw a professional photographer capturing the moment. 'If I had the still photos, I would still want the video,' Cardarelli said. As Swift sang, 'It's a love story, baby, just say, 'Yes.'' Ava Berger can be reached at
IOL News
25-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Growth prospects shine in Zimbabwe and South Africa's construction markets
Construction markets in Zimbabwe and South Africa are on a growth trajectory, with PPC poised to capitalise on emerging opportunities despite challenges in liquidity and project execution Image: Leon Sadiki/Bloomberg Tawanda Karombo Construction markets in Zimbabwe and South Africa are expected to continue on a growth trajectory, providing a strong background for companies such as PPC that are ramping up competitiveness to stand better prospects against imports. Data from researchers on Tuesday showed that the South African cement market reached approximately 13.78 million metric tons in 2024 and 'is expected to grow steadily' over the coming 10 years, with an annual growth rate of 2.50% projected from 2025 to 2034. Zimbabwe has also seen a booming construction sector with government projects and the retail sector, as well as residential housing sector providing impetus. This was benefiting construction industry companies such as cement and brick manufacturers among others. Matias Cardarelli, the CEO of PPC, said the company was cautiously optimistic of the infrastructure plans under South Africa's government of national unity (GNU). He explained that the construction sector was a major driver of the economy through job creation and other activities. 'We believe that the administration is aware of that and that makes us optimistic we are going to see that (construction and infrastructure growth) happening in the short term,' said Cardarelli. Regarding Zimbabwe, where PPC is progressing with a solar power plant, Cardarelli said the construction market was growing on a yearly basis. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Construction companies in Zimbabwe are maintaining a stronger order book although they have to cherry-pick contracts in order to manage credit risks due to a liquidity crunch, especially in the public sector. For example, Masimba Holdings, formerly Murray and Roberts Zimbabwe, recently said its 'contracting order book remained robust, particularly in the roads' sector. 'However, a lack of liquidity within the market hampered effective execution, leading to cash flow challenges and an increasing debtors' book. This constrained the business' ability to fund ongoing projects and manage operational expenses, causing delays in project execution,' said the company. PPC has been flying high in Zimbabwe over the past few years, raking in the dividends. According to Cardarelli, the Zimbabwe construction market has continued to notch up steady growth. 'So in Zimbabwe, what we are seeing is also a market that is steadily growing year after year and we are not expecting to see any change to that,' he told Business Report. PPC has just recorded an improvement of 6% in Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (Ebitda) margins for Zimbabwe. A new solar power plant is being developed in Zimbabwe on an offtake basis to enable PPC to power up its operations in the midst of rolling power outages that are disrupting productivity.
The Citizen
10-06-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
PPC: Why is it so expensive to produce cement in SA?
Calls on government to find out – and says it must also address public safety and unfair competition concerns. JSE-listed cement and building materials producer PPC believes the government should pay attention to why it's so costly to produce cement in South Africa – despite its confidence that the new R3 billion cement plant it's building in the Western Cape will enable the company to increase its competitive edge against cement imports. PPC CEO Matias Cardarelli on Monday (9 June) said the government also needs to address the outsourcing of cement blending to independent blenders from a public safety and fair market competition perspective. Cardarelli mentioned that it's very costly to produce cement in SA compared to other countries, which is the reason cement has consistently been imported into the country for many years. ALSO READ: Treasury bans use of imported cement on all government-funded projects Levelling the playing field Referring to the government, he said it should play a role in creating a level playing field for local cement producers against importers, adding that more than one million tonnes of cement has been imported into the country in recent years, however, he emphasised that imported cement is not PPC's priority. 'We are becoming more modern and efficient and we are sure that we are going to compete going forward.' According to Cardarelli, the South African cement sector hasn't benefitted from the designation of cement for infrastructure projects, as it has not seen 'the infrastructure plan by the government unfold'. He approves of the planned R1 trillion infrastructure investments by the government and is confident the government of national unity will get the ball rolling, but 'so far they have not executed that plan'. ALSO READ: PPC to sell lime business for R515 million Competition He said international players are entering the South African market and two Chinese international companies have bought assets into the country, with rumours that a third player may be joining them soon. Apparently, this company will bring in new technology and change the market landscape. This is a reference to Mamba Cement, which is jointly owned by the Jidong Development Group and the China-Africa Development Fund – as well as the acquisition of Natal Portland Cement (NPC) by China-based Huaxin Cement. Cardarelli said PPC's plans include replacing its two old plants in the Western Cape with a new plant in two years' time, which means the company will own the two newest and most modern plants in SA – while its third plant is also 'pretty modern'. He added that its two old plants are unable to run efficiently from a cost margin and environmental perspective, and that the imminent project is focused on lessening PPC's environmental impact while increasing its financial outcomes. However, Cardarelli said the decision to build the plant was also influenced by the fact that someone else would eventually have taken the initiative, which would affect PPC's position in the market. He added that it's a perfectly valid process worldwide to blend cement with extenders – and that PPC and NPC have their own blending plants. ALSO READ: PPC highlights impact of cement imports on itself and the economy A public safety risk However, he said PPC studies have routinely shown that in some cases that blended cement produced by independent blenders, which is then distributed into the market, has low standard strength. Cardarelli stated that this is a public safety risk. 'If you are not producing cement at the standard required by South African legislation and worldwide designation, there is a real risk that cement will not have the strength for the uses they are giving to that cement. 'I'm not saying that all blended cement shows that low strength standard, but some have consistently shown that,' he said. 'When you sell cement under the strength needed, the cost of that cement is going to be cheaper, and that is why the sector is facing unfair competition from independent blenders.' ALSO READ: Cement industry facing improved operating environment PPC on upward trajectory Despite a 1.9% decrease in revenue to R9.87 billion in the year to end-March, PPC on Monday reported a 28% increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) to R1.59 billion. PPC's Ebitda margin improved in the year to 16.1% from 12.3%. Headline earnings per share grew by 110.5% to 40 cents from 19 cents. An ordinary dividend per share of 17.6 cents was declared, which is more than 28% higher than the 13.7 cent dividend declared in the previous year. Awakening the giant Cardarelli said implementing phase one of PPC's 'Awaken the Giant' strategic turnaround plan has resulted in a step change in the group's margins, profitability, and cash generation, which are the highest since its 2018 financial year. 'This early success is largely as a consequence of a fundamental change in our strategic direction, the organisational culture, and an absolute focus on our core competencies,' he said. Cardarelli is increasingly confident about the outlook for PPC. He said optimising PPC's competitive position in the current markets will better prepare the company for market changes and that it remains cautiously optimistic about the construction market uplift in South Africa, but does not know the base or scale. 'So our plans are based on a scenario of low to no growth in demand while we keep fully ready to capture any growth opportunity when finally this long negative construction cycle comes to an end – and it will come to an end. 'At the same time, we will continue to implement price adjustments. Market share for us does not come at all costs and, through [a] competitiveness strategy, we naturally create the conditions for market share recovery.' This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
IOL News
10-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
PPC sees earnings surge amid strategic shifts and market challenges
PPC Cement bags on conveyor at PPC De Hoek Western Cape. PPC CEO Matia Cardarelli said PPC has had to focus on internal corrections to grow its earnings and unlock under utilised value for the company. Image: Supplied Tawanda Karombo PPC CEO, Matias Cardarelli, said on Monday that the cement manufacturer has worked hard to control underperformance within the group, unlock internal revenue and putting in place measures to enhance efficiencies, helping the company to a full-year earnings surge. This comes as headline earnings per share in PPC for the year to end March 2025 grew from 19 cents a year ago to 40 cents. This was despite a decrease of 1.9% in revenues to R9.88 billion for the same period. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation surged 28% to R1.59bn with operational free cash flow increasing to R1bn, helping the company to grow ordinary dividends for the period to 17.6 cents compared to 13.7 cents per share in the previous comparative period. Cardarelli said PPC has had to focus on internal corrections to grow its earnings and unlock under utilised value for the company. He explained that the company had performed 'ahead' of what it was expecting for the period under review. 'When we came here at PPC, there was an a narrative that the only problems that PPC was having were the problems connected to the economy, and the cement sector in South Africa was not growing for more than 10 years. Whereas that was not completely the case, that was a negative impact for the company,' Cardarelli told Business Report in an interview on Monday. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading PPC is building a new plant in the North West provice and will have a new solar power plant set up in Zimbabwe as it invests further into the company at a time the costs of electricity and other inputs are spiking. The company though said that imports of cement into its regional markets were not a major worry as it was bumping up its competitiveness against rival local and imported products. 'On South Africa, we remain cautiously optimistic for the announcement of the new GNU government of a big infrastructure plans,' Cardarelli added. Although for PPC the South African market was still facing challenges from a demand side perspective, the company was focusing on changing its business fundamentals and approaches to doing business. PPC's "Awakening the Giant" strategic turnaround plan had started to yield results, helping to ensure that the company 'recovers competitiveness, rebuilds profitability and becomes a sustainable' leader. During the period under review, PPC offset inflationary costs with early operational improvements, from logistics optimisation to better product mixes, lower clinker factor and improved sales sourcing. The company was continuing to evaluate projects and strategic options that will support medium- to long-term value creation, including the signing of an engineer, procure and construct (EPC) contract in March 2025 with Sinoma Overseas Development Company for the construction of a new 1.5 million tons a year, R3bn, state-of-the-art integrated cement plant in the Western Cape. The new plant will replace and increase existing capacity. 'The real benefits of this project are expected to start materialising in FY28, and will secure PPC's competitive position in the market as a result of innovative energy efficiency, reduced coal consumption and lower emissions per ton of cement,' explained Cardarelli. He said though that this was coming against the backdrop of international cement groups entering the market with a strong investment in new technology, bringing cost efficiency. While PPC is 'cautiously optimistic about the planned infrastructure spend recovery,' it believes that 'long-term sustainability does not rely on an improved overall economic' environment. 'The focus continues to be on unlocking internal value, as demonstrated in the FY25 results, without requiring any significant market shift,' Cardarelli said. BUSINESS REPORT
Associated Press
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Country Artist Jillian Cardarelli Releases Official Music Video for 'The Boys'
New Single Pays Heartfelt Homage to the Legendary Artists who Shaped the Genre 'My idea of a perfect evening at home is a glass of wine paired with some of my favorite country artists like Willie, Waylon and Hank (i.e., The Boys).'— Jillian Cardarelli, Country Artist NASHVILLE, TN, UNITED STATES, April 17, 2025 / / -- Country artist and songwriter Jillian Cardarelli has released the Official Video for her new single, " The Boys,' available now on all streaming platforms. The song was written by Jessica Cayne, Kyle Kelso and Tina Parol and produced by Daniel Dennis. The tune immediately captured Cardarelli's attention, drawing on her love for all things classic country and iconic sound. Blending rich, traditional country influences with a contemporary sound, 'The Boys' is a heartfelt homage to the legendary artists who have shaped the genre. Cardarelli's signature vocals and emotive delivery brings the song to life, making it a must-listen for both longtime country fans and new audiences alike. 'At my core, I'm kind of a homebody. My idea of a perfect evening at home is a glass of wine paired with some of my favorite country artists like Willie, Waylon and Hank (i.e., The Boys). When one of my best friends and collaborators, Tina Parol, played this song for me, I knew I had to record it,' said Jillian Cardarelli. 2025 is shaping up to be another exciting year of musical and television projects for Cardarelli. Her single 'Waiting on the Sunrise' aired on the popular Fox TV series Farmer Wants a Wife, while the popular Netflix series Love is Blind featured her song 'Same Moon' on a recent episode (S7/E3). Cardarelli made her hosting debut and performed for the Tunnel to Towers Never Forget TV Concert Special featuring Jelly Roll in 2024. In addition, her single 'If I Could Talk to Elvis' featuring Larry Strickland keeps her on the road making international appearances at various events and festivals, including the Bergen Elvis Fest in Norway next month where she is slated to be a featured performer. This release is sure to be a fan favorite among her popular singles 'Can't Help Falling in Love,' 'I'll Get Over You' featuring Vince Gill, 'If We Were Strangers' and 'Worth The Whiskey,' all of which have garnered support from Apple Music, Spotify and Pandora. "The Boys' is available now on all streaming platforms, with the music video now available on her Official YouTube Channel. For updates and upcoming tour dates, visit or follow her on social media. More About Jillian Cardarelli This Massachusetts native, singer-songwriter Jillian Cardarelli, is blazing her own path in Music City with her stunning vocals, captivating songwriting and strong work ethic. Her debut single, 'Rerun,' written by Grammy Award-winning artist Maren Morris, Tina Parol and Jordan Reynolds made a splash on CMT Music, with the music video spending two weeks at #1 and several weeks in the Top 10. Her second single, 'Souvenirs,' debuted on Radio Disney Country, while the music video spent eight weeks in the Top 10 on Her inspirational single 'Strong' featuring Charles Esten was named one of 2020's Most Powerful Songs by American Songwriter and Rolling Stone named her a Top New Artist to Watch. In December 2020, Jillian was honored to be asked to participate in the National Christmas Tree Lighting Virtual Concert in Washington, D.C. as she sang the classic, 'O Holy Night.' Her song 'I Never Do This,' was named Best New Country Song by Rolling Stone in October 2019. Her single 'If I Could Talk to Elvis' featuring Larry Strickland, Elvis Presley's background vocalist from The Stamps Quartet, hit #1 Fan Voted Video on CMT 12-Pack Countdown with appearances on WSM's Coffee, Country & Cody, Sirius XM Elvis Radio and she performed at the Nashville Elvis Festival and at Elvis Week at Graceland. Cardarelli has opened for acts such as Reba, Willie Nelson, Jake Owen, Lee Brice, Hunter Hayes, Scotty McCreery, Trace Adkins, Dierks Bentley, and Alabama. In addition to writing and performing, Jillian is passionate about being involved in charitable organizations like Tunnel to Towers Foundation, PEDIGREE Foundation, Stand Up 2 Cancer, Band Against Cancer, Musicians on Call, and St. Jude Children's Hospital. She often performs for charitable events and, an avid golfer, plays in various charity golf tournaments around the country. For more information, visit Tresa Halbrooks LEGACY PR [email protected] Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
