Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest cement manufacturer Dangote Cement Plc has posted its highest nine-month revenue since the leading cement group commenced operations about 40 years ago.
Figures contained in its third-quarter reports revealed that the group’s revenue increased by 34.2 percent to N1.022 trillion ($2.49 billion), up from the revenue of N761.44 billion ($1.85 billion) that was reported in the same nine-month period of 2020.
Despite operating in a complex, challenging and fast-paced environment, the leading cement group posted a 33.3-percent increase in profit from N208.7 billion ($508.1 million) in the first nine months of 2020 to N278.3 billion ($677.6 million) in the corresponding period of 2021 due to strong growth in revenue.
The double-digit growth in revenue was delivered off the back of strong growth in cement sales, as Nigeria’s cement market remained robust and resilient in the first nine months of 2021.
Cement demand in the period was sustained by a surge in real estate investment demand and an increase in housing infrastructure, commercial construction and government projects, including major highways, roads and railways.
During the nine-month period, Dangote Cement sold a total of 22.2 million tonnes of cement in Nigeria and other African countries, up by 15.4 percent from the 19.2 million tonnes it sold last year.
Revenues for its Nigerian operations increased by 36.2 percent to N729.6 billion ($1.78 billion), while its pan-African revenue, which represents 29.1 percent of its total revenue, increased by 28.1 percent to N297.9 billion ($725.3 million) during the period under review.
Dangote Cement is Africa’s leading cement producer, with nearly 48.6 million tonnes of production capacity across Africa.
The group operates under the Dangote Group, a manufacturing conglomerate founded by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote. Dangote holds an 86.2-percent stake in the cement company.
Through recent investments, the cement maker has been able to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement and has transformed the nation into a cement exporter serving neighboring countries.
Dangote Cement CEO Michel Puchercos said the cement maker reported solid results for the first nine months of the year, as group volumes for the period were up 15.4 percent.
He noted that the group’s financial performance in Q3 2021 suffered from a base effect given the strong rebound in Q3 2020 following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020.
As a result, volumes in Q3 2021 were slightly lower than Q3 2020 as anticipated. However, the overall growth trend continues, supported by its ability to meet strong market demand across all countries of operation.
As of press time, Oct 29, shares in the leading cement maker were trading at N280 ($0.6816), giving it a N4.77-billion ($11.62 billion) market capitalization, while the market value of Dangote’s stake is valued at N4.11 billion ($10.01 billion).
