Caption: From left, Independent Non-Executive Director, Mrs. Oyinkan Adewale; Non-Executive Director, Grant Earnshaw; Independent Non-Executive Director, Mrs. Adenike Ogunlesi; Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Lolu Alade-Akinyemi; the company’s Chairman, Gbenga Oyebode; Legal Director/Company Secretary, Mrs. Adewunmi Alode; Non-Executive Director, Kaspar Theiler; Independent Non-Executive Director, Mrs. Olusola Oworu; Non-Executive Director, Mrs. Elenda Osima-Dokubo; and Non-Executive Director, Taner Demir, all of Lafarge Africa Plc during the 66th Annual General Meeting of the company held in Lagos on Friday.
Building materials giant- Lafarge Africa Plc, last week presented its first quarter unaudited report to the Nigerian Exchange Limited, with sales revenue of N248.35bn in the first quarter of the 2025, representing an 80.26% growth, from N137.772bn recorded in the corresponding period in last year. Cost of Sales (production) increased from N72.128bn to N125.374bn, driven by cost of fuel, power, raw materials and consumables at N80.233bn, up from the previous N45.543bn. Gross profit, therefore, rose by 87.34% from N65.644bn in the first three months of 2024 to N122.976bn.
Selling and distribution costs at N38.937bn, rose from N27.254bn, driven by distribution vairable costs (comprising distribution variable costs like diesel/gasoline, outbound freight and outsourced mining activities), which stood at N32.204bn from N23.794bn; followed by distribution fixed costs of N4.111bn from N2.093bn. Administrative expenses increased to N12.928bn from N8.276bn, with office and general expenses growing from N2.637bn to N4.248bn, and the N4.002bn technical service fees, up from N1.98bn. Other income climbed from N108.479m to N494.929m, lifted by the N412.429m earned from sale of scraps and other miscellaneous income, from N64.832m. Impairment reversals increased to N54.861m from N17.522m; resulting in an operating profit of N71.659bn from N30.239bn.
Finance income, being interest income from short term fixed deposits and other current accounts, rose to N1.841bn from N1.558bn in the same period of last year. Finance cost was significantly contained to N388.005m from previous first quarter’s N23.088bn, as a result of the N1.076bn net foreign exchange gain, which constrained the impact of the N1.193bn interest on borrowings, up from N227.161m. In the first quarter of 2024, Lafarge Africa reported a net foreign exchange loss of N21.803bn. Translated to the giant leap in profit before and after tax for the period. Profit before tax, for example, soared from N8.709bn to N73.112bn, representing a 739.47% growth within the period. The Profit after tax stood at N48.643bn, up by 836.72% from the previous N5.192bn, translating to an earnings per share of N3.02, up from 32 kobo previously, and could have been significantly better, but for the total current tax expenses that grew from N2.371bn in the similar period of 2024, to N27.077bn, which dropped to N24.489bn following the impact of the deferred income tax credit of N2.607bn, compared with the tax expense of N1.144bn in 2024.
Commenting what he termed solid financial results in Q1, Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, the Chief Executive Officer, said the strong performance resulted from the introduction of innovative products and strategic operational excellence.
“This is further evidence of our strong market positioning, operational efficiency, cost management, and dedication to value creation,” he said, stressing that the launch of Ground Calcium Carbonate (GCC) demonstrates the company’s innovation drive and greener planet ambition. He also disclosed that the forthcoming launch of the Elephant ECOPlanet product is aimed at significantly reducing its carbon footprint in the industry.
According to him, “Lafarge Africa continues to drive the usage of Calcined Clay, a low carbon raw material, in its cement manufacturing process, to further drive reduction of our CO2 emission and carbon footprint,” he added.
The CEO assured that the company would remain resilient by leveraging innovation and green growth, in line with its sustainability ambitions, while also delivering continuous value to our stakeholders.
While expressing profound appreciation to customers, and stakeholders, for their continued support despite the macroeconomic headwinds being experienced in the industry, he said the company remains committed to strengthening its leadership position by offering environmentally friendly building solutions while driving long-term profitability.
He affirmed that Lafarge Africa will continue to maximize volume opportunities across our markets and actively manage our costs while remain committed to our sustainability ambitions and strategy of ‘Accelerating Green Growth’ through innovative building solutions and delivery of stakeholder value.
