Caroline Ameh
Three of the largest cement manufacturers in Nigeria saw their combined profit before tax jump by 61.90 per cent in the first half of this year.
According to yet-to-be-audited financial statements of the three Cement giants, Dangote Cement Plc, BUA Cement Plc and Lafarge Africa Plc posted a total pre-tax profit of N237.60bn in Q1 2021, up from N146.76bn in Q1 2020.
Dangote Cement, which released its unaudited results on Friday, grew its profit before tax by 102.30 per cent year-on-year to N151.15bn from N74.79bn in Q1 2020.
It reported revenue of N690.55bn in Q1 2021, up 44.81 per cent from N476.85bn in the corresponding period of 2020.
The company said the country’s cement market remained robust and resilient in Q1 2021, adding, “Cement demand is sustained by increasing housing infrastructure, commercial construction, and government projects including major highways, roads and railways.”
“We are pleased to report a solid set of the results for the first half of the year. Our performance reflects the strong demand across the Group, with increases in revenue and profitability, compared to the same period last year,” the Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Cement, Michael Puchercos, said.
He said the performance was magnified by the lower Q2 2020 results due to the effect of COVID-19.
“The growth trend continues, and we are focused on meeting the strong market demand across all our countries of operation,” Puchercos added.
Lafarge Africa’s profit before tax increased by 27.29 per cent year-on-year to N36.75bn in Q1 2021.
Its revenue rose by 20.30 per cent to N145.02bn from N120.54bn in Q1 2020.
The CEO of Lafarge Africa, Khaled El Dokani, said in a statement, “Our performance remained resilient in Q2 2021, with net sales of +29.4 per cent, recurring earnings before interest and taxes of +11.1 per cent and net income of +25.7 per cent, compared to the previous year.
“We are equally pleased with the progress we are making on sustainability; our use of affordable clean energy and our agroecology footprint is following the acceleration of our net-zero pledge.”
BUA Cement grew its profit before tax to N49.70bn, representing an increase of 24.27 per cent. Its revenue increased by 22.73 per cent from N101.26bn in Q1 2020 half-year to N124.28bn in Q1 2021
