Dangote Cement announces N442bn revenue in 9 months

Despite harsh economic environment in Nigeria, Dangote Cement Plc has reported an improved performance as it grew its revenue for the nine-month period ended September 2016 by N76.642 billion or 20.97 per cent from N365 billion it made in the same period of 2015 to N442 billion in 2016.

The crises of foreign exchange gulped a huge amount of its revenue, as it spent N231.7 billion on cost of sales during the review period of nine months 2016 as against N138.7 billion spent on the same purpose in nine months 2015.

The enormous money spent on cost of sales affected the profit after tax of Dangote Cement from N158 billion it made in nine months 2015 to end the current period with N133.5 billion.

Earnings per share of the company stood at N8.13 kobo at the end of nine months 2016 from N9.80 kobo per share.

The company said, “This price increase will have an immediate and positive impact on margins in Q4, as will the elimination of LPFO from our fuel mix, as we increase our use of coal and as higher gas levels return. We do not expect to use LPFO again this year.

“From January 2017, our use of own-mined coal, sourced in Nigeria and paid for in Naira, will further improve margins and significantly reduce our need for foreign currency. As we have previously made clear, our focus will be to improve margins through cost controls and the adjustment of prices.

“We have new capacity coming on stream in Congo and Sierra Leone and expect Tanzania to increase its market share in the coming months. Foreign exchange constraints in Nigeria have made us reconsider the pace of our expansion and we now believe that a longer-term building programme will enable a more measured approach that balances our ambition for growth with the realities of obtaining foreign currency in this difficult environment.”