By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A total of N685.3 billion was generated as revenue by Dangote Cement Plc in the first nine months of 2018.
This information was revealed in the financial statements of the firm released today to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
In the third quarter earnings analysed by Business Post, this amount was 13.54 percent higher than what was raked in the same period of last year, N603.6 billion.
Dangote Cement is the most capitalised company trading its shares on the local bourse.
In the results, the cement maker said its gross profit stood at N397.6 billion versus N343.7 billion achieved in the same period of 2017, with the other income at N4.5 billion compared with N2.9 billion 12 months ago.
The profit before tax grew by 12.35 percent to N247.4 billion from N220.2 billion, while the profit after tax appreciated by 2.70 percent to N15.3 billion from N154.1 billion.
During the period under review, Dangote Cement said its production cost of sales went up by 10.71 percent to N287.7 billion from N259.9 billion, with the administrative expenses rising to N38.1 billion from N32.7 billion. just as the selling and distribution expenses jumped to N97.2 billion from N0.8 billion, representing a 20.20 percent increase.
However, the company was able to bring down its finance costs to N30.1 billion from N39.9 billion, while the profit from operating activities appreciated by 14.46 percent to N266.9 billion from N233.1 billion.
For the earnings per share, this advanced by 2.70 percent to N9.29k from N9.04k, while the shareholders’ fund dropped to N782.3 billion from N863.9 billion.
Adedapo Adesanya