Dangote Cement posts over 12 percent increase in sales volume across Africa

Dangote Cement, Africa’s largest cement producer, has announced its unaudited results for the 6 months ending June 30th, posting a 12.6 percent increase in sales volume across Africa.

The financials released on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange indicated that the increase in sales volume showed a growing capture of Pan-African market as Dangote Cement continues to gain ground.

Revenues from operations in Nigeria increased by 34.5 percent to ₦291.4 billion (US$924 million) while Pan-Africa revenue increased by 63.7 percent to ₦124.4 billion (US$395 million) from ₦76 billion (US$241 million).

Analysis of the bi-annual results revealed that sales volumes of African operations increased by 12.6 percent to 4.7 million metric tons.

Ethiopia

A breakdown of the sales from the company’s operations scattered around the African continent revealed that a total of 1.1 million metric tonnes of cement was sold in Ethiopia; while 700,000 metric tonnes was sold in Senegal, 600,000 metric tonnes in Cameroon, and 500,000 metric tonnes in Ghana.
Additionally, 400,000 metric tonnes of cement was sold in Tanzania and 300,000 metric tonnes in Zambia.

Reflecting on the half year results, Onne van der Weijde – an executive with Dangote Cement – expressed satisfaction that the company’s revenues have continued to grow despite lower sales from the Nigerian operations noting that the revenues grew on the strength of sales from other African operations.
“Our revenues have continued to grow despite the lower volumes seen in Nigeria, especially because of the recent heavy rains. Our margins have improved significantly, helped by improved efficiencies and a much better fuel mix in Nigeria. We are using much more gas and increasing our use of coal mined in Nigeria, thus reducing our need for foreign currency and supporting Nigerian jobs”, he said.

Increasing market share in Africa

“Our Pan-African operations are growing well and increasing market share. We saw our the first sales from Sierra Leone in the first quarter and our new plant in the Republic of Congo will be in production at the end of July, further increasing our footprint across Africa and strengthening our position as its leading manufacturer of cement”, he added.

Dangote cement reported that it estimated that Nigeria’s total market for cement was 10.2 million metric tonnes – 23.2 percent lower than the estimated 13.3 metric tonnes sold in Nigeria in the first half of 2016.
As a result of the slower market, the company’s Nigeria operations sold nearly 6.9 million metric tonnes of cement, down 21.8 percent on the 8.8 million metric tonnes sold in the first half of 2016.

Dangote Cement is a high-growth, low-debt, internationally diversified company that has just paid a dividend amounting to nearly 75 percent of 2016 net profits to shareholders.
The recent publication of the company’s credit ratings highlights the financial strength Dangote Cement has have achieved through unwavering focus on the profitable expansion of the business on the African continent.