BUA Cement Plc, one of Nigeria’s leading cement companies led by Abdul Samad Rabiu, the country’s second-richest man, reported a double-digit decline in profit in the first three months of its 2023 fiscal year after reporting record earnings at the end of its 2022 fiscal year.
BUA Cement’s profit at the end of the first three months of 2023 fell by 19.13 percent from N33.14 billion ($71.97 million) in the first quarter of 2022 to N26.8 billion ($58.2 million), according to figures contained in its recently published financial results.
The group’s earnings fell despite an 8.2 percent increase in revenue at the end of the first three months of 2023, from N97 billion ($210.7 million) to N106.35 billion ($231.3 billion), as gains in revenue were offset by increases in costs and operating expenses during the period under review.
The group’s selling and distribution expenses increased from N3.24 billion ($7.03 million) to N7.26 billion ($15.76 million), while administrative expenses increased from N2.75 billion ($5.97 million) to N4.77 billion ($10.36 million).
The group’s total assets increased from N874.01 billion ($1.89 billion) to N838.59 billion ($1.82 billion) as a result of the decline in earnings from $71.97 million to $58.2 million, while retained earnings increased from N194.88 billion ($423.24 million) to N221.68 billion ($481.44 million).
BUA Cement is a Lagos-based cement firm that ranks as Nigeria’s second-largest cement company. The cement group which is led by Abdul Samad Rabiu has a combined installed capacity of 8 million tonnes per year.
Rabiu, the fourth-richest man in Africa, derives the majority of his fortune from his 96 percent stake in BUA Cement. Through his manufacturing conglomerate, BUA Group, he indirectly owns the majority of the equity in the cement manufacturer.
Despite the drop in earnings, the group’s share price remained unchanged at N97.85 ($0.2125) per share at the time of writing, giving it a market capitalization of N3.31 trillion ($7.2 billion).
