Nigeria: Dangote Cement reported a growth of 28.7% in revenue and 39.4% in profit for the nine months ending on 30 September 2013.

According to the unaudited results, profit before tax (PBT) rose to US$952m, an increase of US$284m on 2012, while operating profit rose by 36.4% to US$989m. Revenue for the period increased by US$404m (28.7%) to US$1822m, compared to US$1542m in 2012.

Commenting on the results, Dangote Cement Group Managing Director, Devakumar V G Edwin, said that demand for cement remained strong in Nigeria, with the company reporting sales nearly 30% higher than in the nine months to 30 September 2012.

"Our plant in Senegal will soon be producing cement and our South African venture, Sephaku Cement, is well on track to open in the early part of 2014. These two plants will be our first production ventures outside Nigeria as we aim to become Africa's leading supplier of cement," said Edwin.

Dangote Cement is reported as Nigeria's leading cement producer, with three plants in Nigeria and plans to expand into 13 other African countries. The group intends to build more integrated, grinding and import facilities across Africa, bringing its total capacity to over 50Mt/yr by the end of 2016.