43 per cent increase in profit before tax from N365.46 billion (US$889.5 million) in the first nine months of 2020, to N523.7 billion (US$1.27 billion) during the same period this year.
The biggest increase was recorded by Lagos-based Dangote Cement, whose pre-tax profit rose by 49.1 per cent to N405.49billion during the nine-month period. According to the company’s chief executive, Michel Puchercos, volumes in the third quarter of 2021 slightly lower than the corresponding period of 2020, owing to heavier rains and a strong rebound last year following the impact of COVID-19 in the first half of 2020. “However, the overall growth trend continues, supported by our ability to meet the strong market demand across all our countries of operation. The economic performance and efficiency initiatives across the Group, enabled the offsetting of inflationary pressures on some of our cost lines,” he added.
Meanwhile, Lafarge Africa’s pre-tax profit escalated to N43.9billion in nine months of 2021, a 28 per cent increase from N34.29billion reported during the first three quarters of last year. While BUA’s profit before tax, at N74.33billion, far exceeded that of Lafarge, its year-on-year growth was only 26 per cent.
