Lafarge Africa Grows Net Cash by 524 Percent in Q1 2021

Lafarge Africa Plc, a leading Sub-Saharan Africa building materials company, reported N71.470 billion revenue for the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, up from N63.686 billion posted in Q1 2020, the company disclosed in its unaudited financial statements.

The manufacturer’s gross profit stood at N19.093 billion in the quarter while operating profit expanded from N11.839 billion in Q1 2020 to N14.704 billion in Q1 2021.

Lafarge strengthened its balance sheet with a 524.1 percent growth to N22.4 billion, up from N3.6 billion as at the end of 2020 financial year.

Profit before tax inched higher to N12.772 billion in the quarter under review, up from N9.382 billion achieved in the corresponding quarter of 2020.

The company’s income tax payment increased by over 100 percent from N1.315 billion in Q1 2020 to N3.635 billion in Q1 2021.

Profit after tax rose to N9.136 billion, up from N8.067 billion filed in Q1 2020.

Speaking on the strong performance, Khaled El Dokani, CEO of Lafarge Africa, said: “Our Q1 2021 performance was resilient, with net sales of +12.2%, recurring EBIT of +24.2% and net income of +13.3%, compared to previous year. The implementation of our “HEALTH, COST & CASH” action plan continued to deliver results in Q1 2021”.

On the outlook for 2021, the company listed three key areas:

• Good demand momentum expected in Q2 2021.
• We will continue to maximise volume opportunities in our core markets and drive our “HEALTH, COST & CASH” action plan to manage costs.
• We will strengthen our efforts in the area of Sustainability.

Earnings per share grew from 50 kobo in Q1 2020 to 57 kobo in Q1 2021.