Dangote Cement Plc, owned by Africa’s richest man, posted its biggest profit surge in nearly six years, driven by a stable naira and higher cement prices.
Net income more than tripled to a record 309 billion naira ($202 million) in the second quarter, up from 76.6 billion naira a year earlier, the company said in a statement.
The announcement comes just days after billionaire Aliko Dangote stepped down as chairman of the firm.
Revenue at Dangote Cement Plc rose 14% in the second quarter, even as sales volumes slipped 1.4%, showing the impact of higher prices and a relatively stable naira, Bloomberg reported.
The company, which operates in at least 10 African markets, including Tanzania, South Africa, Ethiopia, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, and Ghana, is capitalising on growing cement demand across Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy.
Nigeria’s notoriously volatile currency has hovered around 1,550 naira to the dollar this year, offering rare stability for businesses.
Infrastructure boom fuels sector growth
Cement producers are also getting a boost from public infrastructure spending, including the 700-kilometre Lagos-Calabar coastal highway and various rural road projects.
Smaller rival Bua Cement Plc, owned by billionaire Abdul Samad Rabiu, reported a fivefold jump in second-quarter profit to 180.9 billion naira, further showing the sector’s strength.
Dangote Cement, the cornerstone of Aliko Dangote’s business empire, reported no foreign-exchange losses in the first half of 2025, a sharp turnaround from a 201-billion-naira loss during the same period last year.
Dangote Cement is pushing ahead with its expansion plans. In March, the company resumed work on its $800 million cement plant in Itori, Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State. The 6-million-metric-tonnes-per-annum (Mt/a) facility is slated for completion by November 2026.
The company has been a key driver in reshaping Nigeria’s industrial landscape. In June, Aliko Dangote showed how Nigeria, once the world’s second-largest cement importer, has become the continent’s top cement exporter, a transformation made possible by heavy investments in domestic production capacity.
Today, Dangote Cement remains Africa’s largest cement producer, with a total installed capacity of 48.6 Mt/a across the continent.
Of that, 32.3 Mt/a is based in Nigeria, while the remaining 16.3 Mt/a spans operations in nine other African countries: Tanzania, South Africa, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Ghana, Senegal, Zambia, and Sierra Leone.
