Leading pan African cement manufacturer, the Dangote Cement has maintained its strong hold in the Nigeria domestic cement market accounting for 65% of the Nigerian market volume, while other African plants’ volumes went up by 7.5% to 7.0 mta.
The Cement Company has expanded its operations across Africa with the coming on stream of the 1.5 mta integrated cement plant in Mfila, Republic of Congo even as an acting CEO has been appointed for the company.
According to the unaudited results for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, the plant which began operations last month has almost doubled the size of the cement sector in the country. The Congo plant brings to 10 the number of Dangote Cement plants across Africa.
Analysis of the results indicated that the company recorded strong volumes in Senegal, Ethiopia and Cameroon.
In the nine months under review, the 1.5 mta clinker grinding facility in Douala, Cameroon sold approximately 938 kt of cement, indicating an increase of 16.4% on the 806 kt sold during the same period in 2016.
Dangote Cement Ethiopia increased sales by 16.8% to nearly 1.7 mta in the first nine months of 2017 representing capacity utilization of approximately 88%. The cement plant in Pout, Senegal sold 1.0 mta of cement in the period under review, up by 21.7% on the comparable period of 2016. This represents almost 89% capacity utilization at the factory.
CEO, Dangote Cement, Onne van der Weijde, said, “In our key operations in Nigeria we have significantly improved our fuel mix and this has helped increase margins across the Group. It is especially good for Nigeria because most of the coal we are using is mined in our own country”.
The Board of the cement company also announced changes in the leadership of the company with Onne Van der Weijde, stepping down as the company’s CEO at the end of 2017 having completed three years in this position. He will be appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Dangote Cement PLC, with effect from 1st January 2018.
Engr. Joseph Makoju, Honorary Adviser to the Chairman and former MD of WAPCO/Lafarge, will be acting MD/CEO of Dangote Cement PLC.
