Lafarge Africa, a cement maker, recorded a strong net income growth in the first nine months of 2020. The company posted a 37 percent surge in net profit year-on-year at N28.19 billion in its third-quarter results for the period ended September 30.
- Revenue grew by 10.3% to N180bn from N163bn in the previous quarter.
- Profit before tax grew by 37.1% to N28.2bn.
- Profit after tax declined by 76.5% to N28.2bn.
- Net Assets grew by 3.5% from N357bn to N345bn.
The cement maker’s revenue increased 10 percent from N163 billion in the third quarter in 2019 to N171 billion in the same period in 2020.
Operating profit grew by 15.7 percent from N35.5 billion in 2019 to N41 billion in 2020. Profit before tax (PBT) from continuing operations grew by 70.34 percent from N20.1 billion in 2019 to N34.2 billion in 2020.
On a quarterly basis, revenue also increased 31.34 percent from N45.1 billion in 2019 to N59.3 billion in 2020, however, the bottom line was flat at N4 billion, on the back of mounting cost of sales and admin expenses.
The cement maker noted that continues to prioritise the health and safety of its employees, while supporting our partners and communities in third-quarter results for the period ended September 30.
Khaled El Dokani, CEO of Lafarge Africa Plc stated:
“Our robust results for the first 9 months reflect the strong recovery of the demand in Q3 and the successful implementation of our “HEALTH, COST & CASH” initiatives. Both have delivered a considerable improvement in recurring EBIT, net income and free cash flow, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and Naira devaluation, particularly in Q3.”
OUTLOOK
- Market demand is expected to remain strong in Q4.
- Naira devaluation and inflation remain a concern in Q4.
- The implementation of our “HEALTH, COST & CASH” initiatives would continue to deliver
improvement in our performance. - We will maintain a healthy balance sheet.
Lafarge Africa Plc, a leading Sub-Saharan Africa building materials company is a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, a world leader in building materials. Listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Lafarge Africa is actively participating in the urbanisation and economic growth of Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa.
Lafarge Africa has the widest footprint in Nigeria with cement operations in the South West (Ewekoro and Sagamu in Ogun State), North East (Ashaka, in Gombe State), South East (Mfamosing, Cross Rivers State) with Ready-Mix operations in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. Lafarge Africa has a current installed cement production capacity of 10.5Mtpa.
Lafarge Africa leverages its innovative expertise to provide value-added products and services solutions in the building and construction industry in Nigeria.
