"More Money": Dangote, 2 Other Cement Producers in Nigeria Record over N600bn revenue in 3 Months

• Nigerian cement makers recorded a combined profit increase to over N198 billion in the first three months of 2023
• The increased revenue is a reflection of increase in building and construction in the country
• Dangote cement remains the most profitable cement business, followed by Lafarge and BUA

Three cement producers listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Dangote Cement Plc, BUA Cement Plc, and Lafarge Cement Plc have made a combined revenue of N604.89 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023.

This represents an increase of 0.68 percent from the N600.7 billion reported in the first quarter of 2022.

Breakdown of cement sales

An analysis by Legit.ng showed that Dangote Cement remains the most profitable cement company in Nigeria, having recorded N406.72 billion in revenue from January to March 2023.

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However, this represents a slight drop compared to the N413.18 billion revenue reported during the same period in 2022.

A further breakdown of Dangote Cement's financials reveals that despite the significant revenue generated, its profit for the period was N109.501 billion due to taxes and the high cost of production.

The cost of producing the cement, which includes salaries and plant maintenance costs, totaled a whopping N163.671 billion.

While N37.32 billion went into income tax

Other breakdowns

BUA cement reported the second-highest revenue among other cement makers in the first three months of 2023, amounting to N106.35 billion, which is an increase from the N96.98 billion reported in the first quarter of 2022.

Lafarge Cement, which has a total plant capacity of 11 million metric tons, reported sales of N91.82 billion in the first quarter of 2023, an increase from N90.60 billion in the previous year.

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Expert speaks

Speaking on the result, analysts at Vetiva Research explained that the cement giants' earnings would have been higher if not for the cost of production.

Part of a note made available to Legit.ng reads:

"To address the increasing expenses, cement companies such as Dangote Cement and Lafarge Africa are shifting their focus towards using alternative fuels such as biomass in their cement production facilities, as seen in their respective initiatives like the Alternative Fuel Project and the Geocycle subsidiary."

List of Nigeria's most valuable banks after Q1, 2023

In another report, the Nigerian banks with the highest market capitalisation for the first quarter of 2023 have been unveiled.

Zenith Bank and GT Bank retained their positions as the most highly valued commercial banks in the Nigerian market, which they held at the beginning of the year.

However, First Bank experienced a decrease in its market value during the same period.

Source: Legit.ng