Dangote, BUA, Lafarge Cement Rake in N156.55bn Profit in Q1 2022

Three cement producers listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Dangote Cement Plc, BUA Cement Plc and Lafarge Cement Plc made a combined profit of N156.55 billion in first quarter (Q1) of 2022, representing an increase of 29 per cent from N121.2 billion reported in first quarter of 2021.

Despite reporting hike in cost of sales and operating expenses, the growth in profit by Nigeria’s top cement makers was boosted by increase in revenue.

THISDAY checks revealed that the retail cement prices in Nigeria reportedly rose from around N2,400-N2,600 per 50kg bag in 2020 to an average price of N4,000 at the end of March 31, 2022.

Meanwhile, Dangote Cement, Nigeria’s largest producer and the second most capitalised firm on the NGX, reported 18 per cent increase in its profit to N105.85 billion in Q1 2022 from N89.7 billion in Q1 2021.

The cement giant generated N413.18 billion revenue in Q1 2022, representing an increase of 24.2 per cent over the N332.65 billion recorded in Q1 2021.

However, Dangote Cement sales volumes in the Q1 2022 was hampered by disruptions to gas supplies domestically and by high freight rates restricting its exports of cement and clinker to Cameroon, Ghana and Sierra Leone. Its sales volumes of cement fell by 3.6 per cent year-on-year to 7.25 million metric tonnes in the Q1 2022 from 7.52 million metric tonnes in Q1 2021.

The chief executive officer of Dangote Cement, Michael Pucheros in a statement had said: “Our group volumes were down 3.6per cent mainly due to energy supply challenges in Nigeria. Our operations relying on cement and clinker imports – namely Ghana, Sierra-Leone, Cameroon - were impacted by the global supply chain challenges.”