Displaying items by tag: Nigeria

Ivory Coast: Dangote Cement has announced the imminent commissioning of its 3Mt/yr grinding plant in Ivory Coast, which it says will take place in the third quarter of 2025. The company says that the investment is part of its drive to enhance its regional presence in West Africa. The company’s CEO Arvin Pathak noted that the plant will streamline and provide flexibility to Dangote’s exports in West Africa, which grew by 18.2% in the first half of 2025.

Dangote Cement is Africa’s largest cement producer, with a capacity of 48.6Mt/yr. It already operates in more than 10 African markets, including Tanzania, South Africa, Ethiopia, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo and Ghana.

This week Aliko Dangote retired as the chair of Dangote Cement. It’s a big deal, as Dangote founded parent company Dangote Industries in 1981 as an importer of bagged cement and other commodities such as rice, sugar, flour and salt. Over 40 years later Dangote Cement is the biggest cement company in Africa with a reported capacity of 52Mt/yr, operations in at least 10 countries and annual revenues of US$2.3bn. Dangote personally has also become Africa’s richest inhabitant along the way. It’s an extraordinary achievement.

As CEO Arvind Pathak, said in the company’s half-year report, “We celebrate our president, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who now steps down from the board, for his pivotal and transformative role in shaping the company’s growth, success, and lasting legacy. His visionary leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, and unwavering commitment laid the very foundation of our journey. Under his guidance, the company achieved remarkable milestones, expanded its footprint, and set new standards of excellence across the industry.” Dangote is aged 68 years and his successor as chair of Dangote Cement, Emmanuel Ikazoboh, is aged 76 years.

The key acquisitions started in 2000, when the company purchased a controlling stake in Benue Cement following its privatisation. Then, in 2002, it bought Obajana Cement and started up its first production line at the site by 2007. Obajana has since become the group’s largest plant in Nigeria with a production capacity of 16.3Mt/yr across four lines. The company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2010. Dangote Cement set up other plants in Nigeria and the Cement Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (CMAN) declared that the country was ‘self-sufficient’ in cement in 2012. Dangote the cement importer had become Dangote the cement producer. Then it became Dangote the cement exporter when it established its first overseas cement terminal in Ghana in 2011. Finally, it became Dangote the cement multinational when production plants outside of Nigeria started to be built in the early 2000s with units in Senegal and South Africa starting up in 2014. Today, in 2025, Dangote Cement has operations in Cameroon, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

Naturally, one doesn’t build a conglomerate as large and successful as Dangote Industries without dividing opinion along the way. Issues on the cement side of the business include criticism of how Dangote managed to beat his rivals to buy government-run cement companies in the early 2000s. To be fair to Dangote though, other companies including Blue Circle and HeidelbergCement did the same thing at this time. Arguments about this issue resurfaced publicly in 2022 when the Kogi State Government took Dangote Cement to court over its ownership of the Obajana plant in relation to tax revenue.

Another issue in Nigeria in recent years has been repeated arguments about the price of cement. Despite the country becoming ‘self-sufficient’ in cement, the cost has prompted scrutiny by legislators. Meanwhile, Dangote Cement has continued to make handsome profits year after year. Outside of Nigeria, Dangote’s expansion plans haven’t always gone smoothly. Its plans to open a plant in Kenya, for example, appear to have been stymied repeatedly. Infamously, Dangote himself allegedly described Kenya as being more corrupt than Nigeria to Kenyan media. A long heralded listing on the London Stock Exchange never happened and acquisitions outside of Africa are yet to occur. Looking forward, future challenges include newer entrants into the Sub-Saharan African cement such as those from China. A sign of challenges to come include the pending acquisition of Lafarge Africa by Huaxin Cement as China continues to attempt to export its cement production ambitions.

As Aliko Dangote steps down as chair from his cement business, the potential for both his company and the continent it is based in remains high. Demographic factors favour economic growth in Africa in the 21st Century due to its growing population and need for development. This will require plenty of cement and Dangote Cement is well positioned to supply it.

And finally… some people take up gardening in their retirement. Should Dangote become bored in his retirement from the cement business though he could consider the example of the former CEO of Ireland-based CRH. It was announced last week that Albert Manifold has been appointed as the chair of oil and gas company BP. Dangote Group already operates an oil refinery. Perhaps future opportunities beckon.

Nigeria: Aliko Dangote has retired as the chair of Dangote Cement. He has been succeeded by Emmanuel Ikazoboh in the post.

Arvind Pathak, the CEO of Dangote Cement, said “On behalf of the board and management, we celebrate our president, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, GCON, who now steps down from the board, for his pivotal and transformative role in shaping the company’s growth, success, and lasting legacy. His visionary leadership, entrepreneurial spirit and unwavering commitment laid the very foundation of our journey.”

Dangote founded parent company Dangote Industries in 1981 as an importer of bagged cement and other commodities such as rice, sugar, flour and salt. In the early 2000s the company purchased Benue Cement and Obajana Cement from the government when they were privatised. Dangote Cement then built a new cement production line at the Obajana plant in the late 2000s before building other plants in Nigeria and expanding internationally in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 2010s. Today, Dangote Cement is the biggest cement company in Africa with a self-declared capacity of 52Mt/yr, operations in 10 countries and annual revenues of US$2.3bn.

Ikazoboh holds over 40 years of experience in management roles in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and South Africa. He started his professional career at Akintola Williams Deloitte becoming a managing partner in Cameroon and Ivory Coast and then later becoming a managing partner in West and Central Africa until 2009. In 2010 he was appointed by the Securities and Exchange as an Interim Administrator to carry out capital market reforms of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Central Securities Clearing System. From 2014 to 2000 he worked as the group chair of Ecobank Transnational. He has been a director of Dangote Cement since 2014. Ikazoboh holds a master’s of business administration (MBA) in financial management and marketing from Manchester University Business School, is a certified accountant in the UK and is a fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Nigeria: Domestic sales revenue and earnings have driven Dangote Cement’s financial performance in the first half of 2025. Its sales revenue grew by 17.7% year-on-year to US$1.35bn in the reporting period compared to US$1.15bn in 2024. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 41.8% to US$618m from US$435m. Sales and earnings grew sharply at home in Nigeria yet they fell elsewhere in Africa. Sales volumes of cement dropped by 4.1% to 13.4Mt from 13.9Mt, with a minor decrease locally and a sharper fall in other countries.

Arvind Pathak, CEO of Dangote Cement, said “While group volumes declined… [due] to softer demand in key markets, we remain encouraged by the growth in our export business. Export volumes from Nigeria increased by 18.2%, with 18 successful clinker shipments made to Ghana and Cameroon. This demonstrates the growing importance of our pan-African footprint and our ongoing commitment to regional trade and self-sufficiency.

By region, the group noted that its sales revenue in Nigeria rose sharply driven by price adjustments to keep up with inflation. Exports from national operations increased by 18.2% to 671,000t. 481,000t of this total was sent to Cameroon and Ghana. In the rest of Africa the company blamed lower sales volumes on post-election uncertainties in Senegal and South Africa, and liquidity constraints in Ethiopia due to delays in the approval of the national budget.

Finally, it was announced that company chair and founder Aliko Dangote has stepped down from the board of directors. It celebrated his, “pivotal and transformative role in shaping the company’s growth, success, and lasting legacy.”

Nigeria: BUA Cement’s sales revenue grew by 59% year-on-year to US$379m in the first half of 2025 from US$238m in the same period in 2024. Its profit after tax jumped to US$118m from US$22.4m. In its recent annual general meeting the company reported that it commissioned two new production lines at cement plants in Edo and Sokoto States in 2024 that increased its production capacity to 17Mt/yr from 11Mt/yr. It also started building a new 3Mt/yr line at Ososo in Edo State.

Nigeria: Lafarge Africa reported a 70% year-on-year rise in net sales to US$176m in the second quarter of 2025, driven by higher volumes supported by improved plant stability.

Operating profit grew by 153% year-on-year in the second quarter, with first-half growth at 144%, attributed to topline growth and operational efficiencies. Profit after tax rose by 248% year-on-year to US$55m in the quarter and by 352% in the first half of 2025, strengthened by the stability of the Naira, following heavy losses due to the currency depreciating in 2024.

CEO Lolu Alade-Akinyemi said “Following our impressive first-quarter results, second-quarter performance further showcases the strength of our team, market positioning, operational efficiency, cost management and dedication to value creation. We achieved excellent financial results in the second quarter of 2025, with net sales growth of 70%, operating profit up 153%, and profit after tax up by 248% year-on-year. With this strong result, we closed the first half of 2025 with sales and operating profit growth of 75% and 144% respectively; driven by volume growth, operational excellence, innovative product offerings and our proactive market Initiatives.”

Nigeria: Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru has established a 15-member committee to reactivate NIGERCEM, the country’s first locally-owned cement manufacturing company, located in Nkalagu.

He directed the committee to work with investors and shareholders to devise a plan for the immediate resumption of operations at the plant, which has been shut down for decades, and to submit its report within two weeks.

“Restoring the company was part of my campaign promise when I visited the area. I assured that the factory will be revived within my first tenure in office,” Nwifuru said.

Nigeria: BUA CEO Abdul Samad Rabiu said that the company has agreed with Dangote Group to freeze the price of cement for retailers involved in President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda projects.

“We have decided that we are going to freeze the price of cement for any contractor that is involved with the Renewed Hope project.” Rabiu said. He added “There will be no increase for the foreseeable future.”

The Premium Times newspaper reported that it was not able to obtain a confirmation from Dangote Group about the price freeze.

Nigeria: A court in Lagos has found that it has jurisdiction to hear a suit filed by Strategic Consultancy against the sale of an 84% stake in Lafarge Africa by Holcim to Huaxin Cement. Lafarge Africa submitted the unsuccessful challenge to the court’s jurisdiction. This Day News has reported that the court also ordered the joinder of Netherlands-based Caricement and UK-based Associated International Cements as defendants.

Strategic Consultancy alleges that the sale bypassed minority shareholders, in violation of Nigerian law. Proceedings will continue on 11 June 2025.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement recorded a profit after tax of US$131m for the quarter ending 31 March 2025, up by 86% from US$70.5m in the same period of 2024. Revenue rose by 22% year-on-year to US$623m, driven largely by strategic pricing initiatives in Nigeria, where revenue grew by 54%. Gross profit rose to US$368m from US$262m, while profit before tax increased by 87% to US$195m from US$104m. Group earnings by interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) surged by 49% to US$289m.

The group’s cement volumes declined by 7% to 6.6Mt during the quarter, reflecting reduced demand and heightened inflationary pressures across key markets. However, export volumes grew by 21%, supported by eight clinker shipments to Ghana and Cameroon.