Nigeria's Dangote Cement sees margin decline in first half

AFRICAN STOCKS AND FINANCEJuly 29, 2024 at 4:36 PM UTC

TLDR

Dangote Cement Plc's net profit grew by 6.37% to N189.904 billion in the first half of 2024.
Despite a decline in profit margin by 8%, the company is set to exceed last year's turnover, with total revenue reaching N1.8 trillion in the same period.
Investor selloffs caused a significant drop in market valuation by approximately N1.12 trillion after the earnings report.

Nigeria-listed Dangote Cement Plc grew its net profit by 6.37% to N189.9 billion ($117 million) in the first half of 2024, according to the company’s unaudited financial statements.

While profit increased, the profit margin decreased by 8%, or 800 basis points, over the past 12 months. On the Nigerian Exchange, the cement company, which had remained steady at N656.7 per share for months, experienced a negative shift following the earnings release.

Investor selloffs led to a dip in the company's market valuation by about N1.12 trillion on Friday. Despite this, the company is on track to surpass its turnover from the previous year, having already achieved total revenue of N1.8 trillion in the first half of this year, surpassing its total revenue for 2022.

Points clés à retenir

The Nigerian cement maker sold 13,934 tonnes of cement in the first half of 2024, representing a 3.8% year-on-year increase across its various African franchises. While Nigeria accounted for around 54% of Dangote Cement’s business, the half-year performance was primarily driven by its African franchises, including operations in Cameroon, Congo, Ghana, Senegal, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. During the reported period, Dangote’s combined revenue and EBITDA in these African countries increased by 140% and 135.4%, respectively. This growth was supported by both reduced input costs and increased demand in key markets such as Congo, Zambia, and Ghana.

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