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Giovanni Ravazzotti has spent more than five decades building Italtile Ltd. into South Africa’s dominant ceramics retailer. Now, the founder and chairman is watching his fortune move in lockstep with a market that’s losing its shine.
Ravazzotti, 81, still controls 56.46 percent of the Johannesburg-listed group — a stake of about 746.24 million shares — worth roughly $420.2-million at Monday’s close of R9.62. That’s down sharply from levels seen late last year, when the stock traded above R14.
The billionaire’s wealth is tied to a company facing some of the most hostile conditions in its history. Italtile said Monday it expects headline earnings per share to rise by just 0.1% to 5.2% for the year ending June 30, 2025, translating to between 123.1 cents and 129.4 cents, compared with 123 cents a year earlier.
Directors blamed overcapacity in the ceramics industry, weak South African GDP growth and fragile consumer confidence for squeezing margins and demand. “Consumers remain price-conscious and constrained by tight budgets,” the company said, noting that the brief boost from two-pot pension payouts in the second quarter had faded by the year’s end.
Retail sales at the group’s CTM, Italtile Retail and TopT brands were 2% higher than the prior year, with like-for-like sales up 1%. Manufacturing output fell 5%, while import sales slid 3%. Margins held steady as the company kept prices competitive to defend market share.
Ravazzotti founded Italtile with a single tile store in 1969. The company now boasts of over 200 outlets in South Africa and Australia.
