Chinese-Controlled Lafarge Africa Soars as Revenue Tops N1trn for First Time
Lafarge Africa Plc, the Lagos-listed cement producer now majority-owned by China’s Huaxin Building Materials Group Co., Ltd, saw its share price climb on Friday after reporting a jump in full-year earnings that pushed revenue beyond the N1 trillion mark for the first time.
The stock advanced 5.26 percent to N200.00 per share, lifting the company’s market capitalisation to N3.22 trillion.
Lafarge Africa’s full-year 2025 results showed net sales up 53 percent year-on-year to N1.07 trillion, driven by volume growth, “improved plant stability and more efficient distribution”, according to the company. Profit after tax surged 173 percent to N273 billion, supported by “volume-led revenue growth, disciplined cost optimisation across operations and tighter financial management”.
CEO Lolu Alade-Akinyemi described 2025 as a “landmark year” for the company.
“Full-year 2025 results are a testament of the effectiveness of our 4-point strategy, disciplined execution, and relentless focus on value creation,” Alade-Akinyemi said. “Reaching the N1 trillion net sales threshold, a 53% year-on-year increase, marks a historic turning point for our company.”
Looking ahead to 2026, he said Lafarge Africa will continue to focus on improving capacity utilisation, enhancing value creation, embedding sustainability across operations and maintaining “industry-leading health and safety performance.”
He added that Huaxin’s industrial expertise and collaboration would help the company capitalise on emerging market opportunities while keeping a “prudent and agile” approach to capital allocation and cost management.
On 1 December 2024, Swiss building materials giant Holcim announced it had agreed to sell its entire 83.81 percent stake in Lafarge Africa Plc to Huaxin Building Materials Group Co. Ltd, previously known as Huaxin Cement Co. The transaction received approval from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on 25 July 2025.
As of 31 December 2025, Huaxin Building Materials Group held 83.81 percent of Lafarge Africa’s issued share capital, with the remaining 16.19 percent owned by other institutional and individual investors.
