Q1: Dangote exports 211kt cement to three African countries, sells 4m tons in Nigeria

Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement can authoritatively be said to be a thing of the past as Dangote Cement, for the first quarter, exported a total of 211 kilotons of cement to Ghana, Togo and Niger.
The company’s volume in the Nigeria also increased significantly by 5.3 per cent to nearly 4 million tons for the period under review.
Announcing its first quarter audited results for the three months ended 31st March 2018 on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Dangote cement’s gross revenue increased by 16 per cent, from N208.12 billion in the corresponding period of 2017 to N242.1 billion.
The company’s gross profit for the period rose from N120.36 billion to N144.76 billion indicating an increase of 20.30 percent. While Profit before tax rose by 40.2 percent, from N77.32 billion to N108.04 billion, Profit after tax for the period went up by 29 percent, from N55.8 billion to N72.12 billion.
A breakdown of the results indicated that the total volume of cement sales by the Group went up by 2.8 percent to 6.2 million tonnes with Nigerian volumes up by 5.3 percent to nearly 4.0 million tonnes. 
In the reviewed period, Engineer Joe Makoju was appointed Group Chief Executive Officer While Cherie Blair and Mick Davis also joined the Board as Independent Non-Executive Directors. 
Group Chief Executive Officer, Joe Makoju speaking on the results said: “The first quarter of 2018 has started strongly with substantial increases in revenues and profitability that drove excellent cash generation across the Group. Despite a slightly slower start to the quarter, Nigerian volumes increased significantly in March and underpin our confidence that 2018 will be a good year for the Group. Across our Pan-African operations, higher revenue per tons boosted revenues and increased EBITDA margins, with great potential to improve further when Tanzania switches to gas.”
 Chairman, Dangote Cement, Aliko Dangote said: “I am delighted to welcome Cherie and Mick to the Board of Dangote Cement. They bring diverse and valuable experience of emerging-market business, sustainability and governance to our Board.
Expatiating further on the capacity of the company, Makoju said “Dangote Cement is Africa’s leading cement producer with nearly 46Mta capacity across Africa. A fully integrated quarry-to-customer producer. The company has a production capacity of 29.25Mta in its home market, Nigeria. Our Obajana plant in Kogi state, Nigeria, is the largest in Africa with 13.25Mta of capacity across four lines; our Ibese plant in Ogun State has four cement lines with a combined installed capacity of 12Mta and our Gboko plant in Benue state has 4Mta. Through our recent investments, Dangote Cement has eliminated Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement and has transformed the nation into an exporter of cement serving neighbouring countries.
In addition, we have operations in Cameroon (1.5Mta clinker grinding), Congo (1.5Mta), Ghana (1.5Mta import), Ethiopia (2.5Mta), Senegal (1.5Mta), Sierra Leone (0.5Mta import), South Africa (2.8Mta), Tanzania (3.0Mta), Zambia (1.5Mta)”.