Africa’s largest cement manufacturer, Dangote Cement has reported a 24% jump in gross revenue t0 N413 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2022. Owned by the richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote, the leading cement manufacturer grew profit after tax by 18% to N105.9 billion.

The company disclosed this in its unaudited financial statement obtained by Investors King.

A further breakdown of the firm activities in the period under review revealed that 7.2 metric tonnes (mt) of cement were sold in Q1 2022. Nigerian operations, however, accounted for 4.8mt while 2.4mt were sold in other African countries it operates.

Commenting on the company’s performance, Michel Puchercos, said Dangote Cement kickstarted the year on a positive note despite the tough operating environment and uncertainty in the global financial market.

According to him, “increases recorded in revenue and profitability drove strong cash generation across the Group. Profit after Tax rose to N105.9bn, up 18 percent compared to last year while Group EBITDA rose to N211.0bn, by 18.6 percent with an EBITDA margin of 51.1 percent.

“On the operational side, we are ramping up production at our Okpella plant and are progressing well to deploy grinding plants in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. Demand remained strong across all markets, and we remain confident that Dangote Cement is positioned to meet customers’ expectations despite these temporary challenges.

“Continuing our efforts to deliver shareholder value, Dangote Cement completed the second tranche of its buyback programme. Following the completion of both tranches, Dangote Cement has now bought back 0.98 percent of its shares outstanding. This share buy-back programme reflects the Company’s commitment in finding opportunities beyond dividend to return cash to shareholders,” Puchercos said

On rising energy prices and global uncertainty, he said “the volatile international context is strengthening our efforts to ramp up the usage of alternative fuels and execution of our export-to-import strategy. Reducing our dependence on imported inputs and making our markets self-sufficient has never been more relevant from a regional perspective.”

“Our continuous focus on efficiency, meeting strong market demand and maintaining our cost leadership drives our ability to consistently deliver superior profitability and value to all shareholders,” Puchercos added. 

About Dangote Cement

Dangote Cement has a combined installed capacity of 51.6 metric tonnes per annum and it is the largest cement manufacturer in Africa. Nigeria’s production unit has a production capacity of 35.25mta with the Obajana plant in Kogi State accounting for 16.25Mt across five lines.

Ibese plant in Ogun State has four cement lines with a combined installed capacity of 12Mta while Gboko plant in Benue state has 4Mta; and Okpella plant in Edo state has 3Mta.