Dangote Cement Posts Weak Numbers in Q1 2019

• Dangote Cement Posts Weak Numbers in Q1 2019

Following better than expected 2018 financial year, Africa’s top cement manufacturer, Dangote Cement, announced a weaker than expected revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2019.

The financial results released on Friday showed the leading cement maker in Nigeria recorded a decline across key areas.

The total revenue generated by the company during the period declined from N242.1 billion filed in Q1 2018 to N240.2 billion in Q1 2019, while production during the quarter declined from 6.04 million tonnes in Q1 2018 to 5.97 million tonnes in Q1 2019.

Revenue was also weighed upon by a decline in the tonnes of cement purchased from 233,000 tonnes achieved during the same quarter of last year to 187,000 tonnes in Q1 2019.

The production cost of sales grew from N97.4 billion to N99.5 billion, while administrative expenses rose from N11.9 billion to N13.2 billion.

Again, gross profit dipped from N144.8 billion to N149.7 billion during the first quarter.

During the same period, selling and distribution expenses grew from N29.6 billion to N39.6 billion. Profit from operating activities nosedived to N88.4 billion, up from N103.8 billion.

Profit before tax declined from N108.4 billion to N79 billion, while profit after tax also adjusted in a similar version to N60.3 billion, from N72.1 billion. This was below 91.1 percent increase in profit after tax declared for the financial year 2018.

The broad decline weighed on Earnings Per Share (EPS), which dropped from N4.20 kobo to N3.54 kobo.