Dangote cement, two others report N570bn profits in 2017

Nigeria’s 3 major cement companies have made a total of N574.5 billion in revenues for the six months ended June 2017.  A N172.5 billion increase compared to the N402 billion made in the corresponding period in 2016.

Dangote cement had the lion share with revenues of N412 billion in 2017, a N120 billion increase from the N292 billion made in the comparative period for 2016.

Lafarge Africa had revenues of N154 billion in June 2017, a N47 billion increase compared to N107 billion made in June 2016.

CCNN had the smallest share with revenues of N8.5 billion in June 2017, a N2.1 billion increase compared to N6.4 billion in June 2016. All 3 companies posted increases in revenue.

National Daily gathered that Cement companies in the country increased prices in order to deal with rising energy costs. Epileptic power supply, and gas shortages due to militant attacks have led to the companies relying on Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO) to operate.

President of the BUA group (an unlisted Cement maker),Abdulsamad Rabiu had recently hinted that the cement producers were considering a reduction in prices due to an increase in foreign exchange availability and a drop in LPFO price.

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Dangote cement was the only company that revealed its production and sales volumes for the period in question. The company witnessed a drop in sales volume from 12970 tonnes in 2016 to 11509 tonnes in 2017, suggesting the increase in revenues may have been due to an increase in price.

Year to date, the shares of the three companies are all up, with CCNN and Lafarge Africa outperforming the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index which is up 37175 year to date. CCNN shares closed at N9.22 last Friday up 84.4% year to date. Lafarge Africa shares closed up N60.75 up 48% year to date. Dangote Cement shares closed N235.51 up 35.56% year to date.