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Africa’s largest cement manufacturer Dangote Cement Plc has posted N196 billion ($476.3 million) in profits for the first half of 2021. The profit represents a 51.9-percent growth when compared with last year’s figures.
The Nigeria-based cement behemoth, majority owned by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, is the continent’s leading cement producer with a 48.6-million-tonne-per-annum capacity.
Its market capitalization on the Nigerian Exchange is valued at N4.2 trillion ($10.3 billion), making the leading cement producer the largest listed entity on the Nigerian bourse ahead of telecom giant, MTN Nigeria.
The group’s pan-African operations cover nine countries on the continent, excluding Nigeria, where it has a production capacity of 32.25 million tonnes per annum.
A strong growth in cement demand across its 10 countries of operation, including its home country, led its revenue to surge by 44.8 percent to N690.5 billion ($1.68 billion) at the end of the first six months of 2021.
The double-digit growth in revenue came on the back of a 33.2-percent rise in sales in Nigeria, and a 15.5-percent growth in its pan-African sales, leading to 26.1-percent growth in total group sales during the period.
Operational efficiencies in the group’s activities, coupled with the cost-optimization strategies deployed, sent its profits up by 51.9 percent to N196 billion ($476.3 million), as earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization improved by 61 percent.
Dangote Cement CEO Michel Pucheros said the group’s performance reflects strong demand across the group, with increases in revenue and profitability compared to the same period last year.
He added that strong intrinsic performance over the first six months of the year was magnified by lower Q2 2020 results due to the effect of COVID-19.
As the growth trend continues across all segments, Pucheros said Dangote Cement will improve the output of existing and new assets to meet strong market demand in its countries of operation.
He also noted that by the fourth quarter of this year its 3-million-tonne Okpella plant will commence operation.
