Dangote Cement posts 73% rise in half-year profit

Dangote Cement Plc, Africa’s largest cement producer, has reported an increase of 72.7 percent in its profit for the first half of this year, compared to the same period of 2020.

The company announced on Friday its unaudited results for the six months ended June 30, 2021.

Its profit before tax jumped to N281.25 billion in H1 2021 from N162.85 billion in the same period a year earlier, while profit after tax rose by 51.9 percent to N191.6bn.

Dangote Cement’s revenue increased to 44.8 percent to N690.5bn, while its net debt stood at N400.9bn, with a net gearing of 49.8 percent.

It said demand remained strong across our 10 countries of operation.

According to the results, group sales volumes increased by 26.1 percent to 15.3 million tonnes, with Nigeria volumes up 33.2 percent to 9.9Mt and double-digit volume growth in pan-Africa of 15.5 percent.  

The company said it recommenced clinker exports from Nigeria in the second quarter of this year.

The Chief Executive Officer, Michel Puchercos, said, “We are pleased to report a solid set of the results for the first half of the year. Our performance reflects the strong demand across the group, with increases in revenue and profitability, compared to the same period last year.

“This strong intrinsic performance is magnified by the lower Q2 2020 results due to the effect of COVID-19. The growth trend continues, and we are focused on meeting the strong market demand across all our countries of operation.”

He noted that the company recommenced its clinker exports from Nigeria “to ensure we met the historic volume growth in the Nigerian domestic market since mid-2020”.

“We are improving the output of our existing and new assets and I am happy to announce that our 3Mt Okpella plant is on track to come on stream in the next quarter,” Puchercos added.