Goddy Egene
Dangote Cement Plc, Africa’s largest cement producer, has announced a revenue of N761.4 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, showing an increase of 12 per cent compared with N679.8billion in the corresponding period of 2019.
Domestic operations accounted for N535.51 billion which compared to N467.88 billion, up by 14.5 per cent, while Pan-Africa operations contributed N232.61 indicating a9.1 per cent increase over N213.20 billion in 2019.
Profit before tax rose 37.6 per cent to N271.96billion in 2020, from N197.68 billion, just as profit after tax grew by 35.2 per cent from N154.35 billion to N208.69billion.
Commenting, Group Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Cement, Michel Puchercos, said: “I am delighted to report that Dangote Cement experienced its strongest quarter in terms of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and strongest third quarter in term of volumes. Despite a challenging environment, group volumes for the nine months were up 6.6 per cent and group EBITDA was up 17.1 per cent , at a 46.6 per cent margin.
According to him, this quarter has really shown the ability of Dangote Cement to meet the strong recovery of the cement market in Nigeria and pan-Africa after a challenging second quarter (Q2.
“In Nigeria, we have witnessed a strong appetite for real estate investment and the recovery of infrastructure spending – including more concrete roads. Sales volumes in Nigeria were up 40 per cent in the quarter and pan-Africa reached a record high EBITDA margin of 24 per cent in the quarter,” he said.
Puchercos said the company continued to focus on its export strategy and is on track to ensure West and Central Africa become cement and clinker independent, with Nigeria as the main supply hub.
“Clinker exports have steadily been ramping up in Q3 after our maiden shipment in June 2020, whilst land exports have also resumed. Dangote Cement’s strategy to offer high quality products at competitive prices is meeting customers’ expectations in Nigeria and across the continent, where we continue to deploy excellent marketing initiatives and operational excellence across the continent.
We remain committed to protecting our staff and communities by being fully compliant with health and safety measures in all our territories of operation. We are focused on adapting to the rapidly evolving markets in which we operate,” he said.
