Dangote Cement 1H18 revenues of NGN482.4bn

Dangote Cement Group reported 1H18 unaudited revenues of NGN482.4bn (US$1.33bn), up 16.9 per cent and group EBITDA up 20.8 per cent at NGN246bn.

Joe Makoju, group CEO, commented on the company's 1H18 results: "Our first-half performance was very strong and driven by an excellent recovery in Nigeria, where our sales volumes increased by nearly 14 per cent and revenues rose by more than 18 per cent. Pan-African operations saw a slight fall in volumes but both revenues and EBITDA increased because of better pricing and currency conversion effects.

"Of course, our strong performance has been overshadowed by the tragic and heartbreaking events in Ethiopia. I would like to pay tribute to my colleagues Deep Kamra, Beakal Alelign and Tsegaye Gidey and offer our sincere condolences to their families."

Nigerian market
Total Nigerian cement sales rose by 13.9 per cent to 7.8Mt and domestic sales volumes of 7.3Mt were recorded giving the company nearly 66 per cent market share. In 1H18, Nigeria's total market for cement was 11.2Mt, nearly 10 per cent higher than the estimated 10.2Mt sold in 1H17. Dangote managed 7.8Mt of cement sales from its Nigerian operations, up 13.9 per cent on 1H17. Second quarter sales of 3.84Mt were again up on the 3.1Mt of 2Q17. Revenues increased by 18.1 per cent to NGN344.1bn and EBITDA by 19.3 per cent to N226.9bn.

Total export sales of 0.5Mt included 237,000t to Togo, 153,000t to Niger and 13,000t to Ghana.

Pan-African operations
Dangote Cement Group's pan-African operations sold 4.57Mt of cement in 1H18, down 3.9 per cent on the 4.75Mt in 1H17. Sales were affected by lower volumes in Tanzania and civil unrest in Ethiopia as well as a reduction of exports to Ghana. Volumes increased in Zambia and Sierra Leone while maiden sales started from Congo.

Revenues of NGN138.7bn were 11.4 per cent higher than 1H17 and represented 28.7 per cent of group revenues.

Cameroon
The 1.5Mta Douala plant sold 0.33Mt of cement in 1Q18 and 0.31Mt in 2Q18, increasing sales by two per cent on 1H17 and representing a 41 per cent market share.

Congo
The new Mfila cement plant began operations in September 2017 and sold 88,000t of cement in 1H18, representing a market share of 32 per cent. The ex-factory cement price was approximately US$96/t.

Ethiopia
The fatal attack on Country CEO, Deep Kamra, his assistant Beakal Alelign and driver Tsegaye Gidey overshadowed events at the Mugher cement plant. Cement sales fell by 10.8 per cent to 0.97Mt in 1H18, giving a market share of 27 per cent.

Ghana
The Ghana operations sold 0.4Mt of cement in 1H18, a fall of 21.7 per cent on the 510,000t sold in 1H17. Production was hit by limited availability of imported cement from Nigeria. Dangote's market share was estimated at 11 per cent and ex-factory pricing was approximately US$94/t.

Senegal
The Pout plant sold 0.75Mt of cement in 1H18, up 1.1 per cent on 1H17. The factory operated at 100 per cent utilisation, resulting in a market share of 21 per cent in 2Q18. Ex-factory pricing was US$70/t for 32.5 grade and US$79/t for 42.5 grade. Some 0.28Mt was exported to Mali.

Sierra Leone
The Freetown import and bagging facility sold 63,000t of cement in 1H18, up 18.9 per cent on 1H17. The average ex-factory price was US$100/t.

South Africa
Sales edged up by 0.5 per cent in 1H18 and a five per cent increase on prices was implemented across key regions in February 2018. 

Tanzania
The Mtwara plant sold 0.2Mt of cement in 1H18, 48 per cent down on 1H17, owing to plant shutdowns pending the commissioning of gas turbines that are expected to come on-stream in August 2018.

Zambia
The Ndola factory sold nearly 0.43Mt in 1H18, up 31.2 per cent on 1H18, giving a market share of 39 per cent.

Manufacturing costs rose by 11.3 per cent, while selling and administration costs increased by 14 per cent to NGN86.9bn.