Dangote Refinery Swings to $4.7bn Nine-Month Profit, $651m Net Cash Position
Earnings rise sharply and the balance sheet moves to net cash as Africa’s largest refinery heads toward its IPO
Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE made a net profit of $4.7 billion in the first nine months of 2026, compared to a loss of $117.2 million in the same period of last year.
The unaudited results released on Tuesday show revenue of $22.5 billion, up from $9.2 billion a year earlier. The company credits higher refining activity and more crude processed through the plant.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew almost ninefold to $5.5 billion from $627.6 million. The EBITDA margin rose to 24.6% from 6.8%. That means the refinery now keeps about 25 cents of operating profit from every dollar of sales, compared with about 7 cents a year ago. The company points to better reliability and stronger refining margins.
The balance sheet changed just as much. Operating cash flow rose to $3.7 billion from $364.7 million. Cash holdings grew more than eightfold to $6.7 billion from $809.5 million. The refinery now has more cash than debt, with a net cash position of $650.8 million. A year earlier it had net debt of $1.7 billion.
“A solid foundation” for the IPO
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer David Bird said the quarter showed the refinery has finished its commissioning and ramp-up phase.
“Our third-quarter performance demonstrates the successful transition from commissioning and ramp-up activities to sustainable commercial operations,” he said. He added that the growth reflected “higher throughput, improved operational reliability and stronger gross refining margins.”
He said the results give the company a strong base as it moves ahead with its initial public offering and its Vision 2030 growth strategy.
“With our expansion programme already underway, we remain focused on increasing refining capacity and broadening our product portfolio,” Bird said. “We will continue to strengthen our distribution network across Africa and support energy security across the continent, while creating long-term value for stakeholders.”
The refinery and petrochemical complex is in the Lekki Free Zone in Lagos, Nigeria. It can currently process 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
