Lafarge Africa 1Q23 sales up 1.3% YoY

Lafarge Africa has reported a 1.3 per cent YoY uptick in net sales to NGN91,821m (US$199.4m) in the opening quarter of 2023. Recurring EBIT over the same period was up 0.8 per cent to NGN22,239m, while the recurring EBIT margin remained steady at 24 per cent.

Profit before tax improved by 4.7 per cent YoY to NGN22,481m, but profit after tax saw a 14.9 per cent decline to NGN14,935m. Free cash flow in the 1Q23 came in at NGN4659m, up from a loss of NGN5113m in the same quarter a year earlier.

Khaled El Dokani, CEO of Lafarge Africa, said, “Q1 2023 was a challenging first quarter due to the economic impact of the general elections and shortage of cash in circulation following the currency redesign  policy.  These  constrained  our  financial  performance. However,  we  remain  focused  on delivering sustainable value to all stakeholders as market recovers post-election and through the rest of the year. Lafarge Africa remains committed to accelerating green growth in line with our sustainability ambitions and targets.”

Looking ahead to the rest of 2023, the company expects the market to recover over the remaining months of the year, with Lafarge Africa focussing on cost management and sustainability.