Dangote Cement Plc in its 2016 full year audited results announced that its sales in Africa, Nigeria excluded, have soared 54% to 8.6 million metric tons of cement compared to 2015. In addition, it has exported 0.4Mt of the product from Nigeria to its neighboring countries, thus making the nation a net exporter of cement.

The Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Cement Plc, Onne Van der Weijde, while presenting the results said despite the economic challenges in the country, the company’s Pan-African cement plants continue to perform efficiently, contributing significantly to its turnover and profitability.

“The New Year has started well and we expect much higher profitability in Nigeria in 2017, even though we may not see the volume growth we achieved in 2016. I am confident that we will deliver an even stronger performance in 2017 as we increase market share and extend our reach across Africa,” he said.

He said while sales from the Nigerian operations rose by 13.8% to nearly 15.1 million metric tons the company total revenue soared by 25.1% to ₦615.1 billion ($1.9 billion).

Let’s recall that Dangote Cement is Africa’s leading cement producer with about 46 million metric tons capacity across the region.

Anita Fatunji