Economy
HY: Dangote Cement Grows Sales Volume by 12.6%, Controls 65% Market Share
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Africa’s largest cement producer, Dangote Cement, has announced its unaudited results for the six months ended June 30, 2017, posting a 12.6 percent increase in sales volume across Africa.
In the financials released on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) indicated that the increase in sales volume showed a growing capture of Pan-African market as Dangote Cement continues to gain grounds and possibly expand to the United States to set up an LLC in Texas.
Revenues from operations in Nigeria increased by 34.5 percent to N291.4 billion while Pan-Africa revenue increased by 63.7 percent to N124.4B from N76.0B mainly as a result of increased volumes and foreign exchange gains when converting the sales from country local currency into Naira.
Analysis of the half year result revealed that sales volumes of African operations increased by 12.6 percent to 4.7 million metric tons with Sierra Leone making a 53 kt maiden contribution.
Record of sales from its operations scattered around the African continent revealed that a total of 1.1million ‘metric tons of cement was sold in Ethiopia, almost 0.7 million metric tons sold in Senegal, 0.6 million metric tons sold in Cameroon, and 0.5 million tons in Ghana.
Also, 0.4 million metric tons of cement was sold in Tanzania and 0.3 million tons in Zambia. Sales volumes from Nigerian operations fell from 8.8Mt to 6.9Mt, occasioned by the onset of rains which stalled many construction projects.
Reflecting on the half year results, Dangote Cement’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Onne van der Weijde expressed satisfaction that the company’s revenues have continued to grow despite low sales from the Nigerian operations noting that the revenues grew on the strength of sales from other African operations.
“Our revenues have continued to grow despite the lower volumes seen in Nigeria, especially because of the recent heavy rains. Our margins have improved significantly, helped by improved efficiencies and a much better fuel mix in Nigeria.
“We are using much more gas and increasing our use of coal mined in Nigeria, thus reducing our need for foreign currency and supporting Nigerian jobs.
“Our Pan-African operations are growing well and increasing market share. We saw our the first sales from Sierra Leone in the first quarter and our new plant in the Republic of Congo will be in production at the end of July, further increasing our footprint across Africa and strengthening our position as its leading manufacturer of cement,” he said.
The company reports that it estimated that Nigeria’s total market for cement was 10.2 million tonnes (Mt), 23.2 percent lower than the estimated 13.3Mt sold in Nigeria in the first half of 2016. Of total market sales in the first half of 2017, just 0.1Mt was imported.
“As a result of the slower market, our Nigeria operation sold nearly 6.9Mt of cement, down 21.8 percent on the 8.8Mt sold in the first half of 2016. We estimate our market share to have been about 64.5 percent during the first six months of 2017,” he added.
Dangote Cement is a high-growth, low-debt, internationally diversified company that has just paid a dividend amounting to nearly 75 percent of 2016 net profits to shareholders.
“The recent publication of our credit ratings highlights the financial strength we have achieved through our unwavering focus on the profitable expansion of the business, underpinned by our belief that we must remain prudent in our financial management.”, Mr Weijde stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says the first cargo of the new Obodo crude blend has been shipped.
Business Post gathered that the first cargo could be headed for the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
In a statement by the chief executive of NUPRC, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, Conoil Producing Limited was congratulated on the successful shipment of the first cargo of the Obodo crude blend.
Mr Komolafe said this development marks a significant milestone for Nigeria’s upstream sector, demonstrating the growing capacity of indigenous operators to contribute meaningfully to national crude oil production and exports.
“The introduction of the Obodo crude blend further diversifies Nigeria’s export portfolio and aligns with the commission’s strategic objectives to enhance production output, maximise hydrocarbon resources, and attract investment through operational efficiency and innovation,” he said.
Mr Komolafe maintained that this achievement by Conoil, under the production sharing contract framework with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, also reflects the positive outcomes of collaborative regulatory support, enabling indigenous players to thrive.
“As the regulator of Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry, the NUPRC remains committed to providing a transparent, predictable, and investment-friendly environment that encourages the development of new crude streams and ensures optimal value for the Nigerian people.
“We look forward to more milestones of this nature that advance national energy security and economic resilience,” he said.
According to tracking data from Kpler, the Suezmax Atlanta Spirit loaded on April 25 from the floating production, storage and offloading vessel Tamara Tokoni.
Obodo has a gravity of 27.65°API and a very low sulphur content of 0.05pc, according to Argus.
Obodo joins the list of crude grades launched by Nigeria in the last year.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) restarted production of similar-quality Utapate in 2024 and launched Nembe a year earlier.
Obodo could find favour with European refineries, as Nigerian medium sweet grades — including Forcados, Escravos and Bonga — have gone predominantly to Europe, the largest market for the country’s crude.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Dangote Oil Refinery has reportedly cancelled planned maintenance on its 204,000 barrels per day petrol-producing unit for June.
This comes as the $20 billion structure has carried out the necessary work during an unplanned shutdown from April 7 to May 11, according to industry tracker, IIR.
Dangote Refinery had originally scheduled a 30-day maintenance shutdown in June for its gasoline-producing Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) unit.
The refinery has since pushed back on reports of the unit being under unplanned repair, stating that such claims are not entirely accurate.
According to data from shipping analytics firm, Kpler, during the unplanned outage, the refinery ramped up exports of residual products such as straight run fuel oil, while shipments of finished fuels like jet fuel and gasoil declined.
The 650,000 barrels per day refinery, built by Africa’s richest man, Mr Aliko Dangote, began producing diesel, naphtha, and jet fuel in January last year, followed by petrol production in September.
Dangote refinery could potentially end the long-standing gasoline trade from Europe to Africa, which is valued at $17 billion annually.
Already, the refinery has triggered a spate of changes in fuel prices locally with back to back cuts down to N825 per litre earlier this week from N835 previously sold.
The refinery, however, has not been able to operate at its optimal level due to challenges around feedstock. So far, in addition to local crude acquisition, it has bought crude from the US, Brazil, Angola, and Algeria.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose further by 1.02 per cent on Tuesday, May 13, buoying the market capitalisation by N19.77 billion to close at N1.967 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.947 trillion.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up by 33.77 points to finish at 3,359.79 points, in contrast to the 3,326.06 points reported a day earlier.
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc increased during the trading session by N2.35 to N27.20 per share from N24.85 per share, NASD Plc added N1.90 to close at N20.90 per unit compared with the previous day’s N19.00 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 87 Kobo to close at N41.30 per share versus the previous closing value of N40.43 per share, Mixta Real Estate Plc climbed higher by 51 Kobo to end at N5.51 per unit compared with Monday’s price of N5.00 per unit, and AG Mortgage Bank Plc appreciated by 5 Kobo to settle at 58 Kobo per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s 53 Kobo per share.
The level of activity was higher yesterday, with the volume of securities transacted going up by 61,474.7 per cent to 414.5 million units from the 673,233 units traded in the previous trading day, the value of trades jumped by 16,714.4 per cent to N1.05 billion from N6.3 million, but the number of deals fell by 28.6 per cent to 25 deals from 35 deals.
Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 536.9 million units worth N524.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 266.3 million units sold for N470.5 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion.
Okitipupa Plc also remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 153.6 million units sold for N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 20.2 million units valued at N770.6 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units worth N524.7 million.
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