From WAPCO to HBM Nigeria: How four identities shaped Nigeria’s oldest cement maker

Lafarge Africa Plc officially became HBM Nigeria Plc in May 2026 after shareholders approved a special resolution at the company’s 67th Annual General Meeting held on April 30, bringing an end to the Lafarge brand that had dominated the company’s identity for more than a decade.

The new name, HBM—’Huaxin Building Materials’, reflects the company’s new Chinese ownership following Holcim’s exit from Nigeria.

The name change followed the completion of Holcim’s sale of its 83.81 percent stake to China’s Huaxin Cement in August 2025, in a transaction valued at $1 billion. The acquisition made Huaxin the controlling shareholder and set the stage for a corporate rebranding that formally aligned the Nigerian business with its new parent company.

Read also: Lafarge Africa officially rebrands as HBM Nigeria Plc

The acquisition expanded Huaxin’s African footprint, which already included operations in Zambia, Malawi, and South Africa. The renaming to HBM Nigeria, therefore, represented more than a branding exercise; it symbolised the transfer of ownership from European to Chinese hands.

Before the Holcim-to-Huaxin deal was announced in December 2024, Lafarge Africa’s stock traded around N68. By the time the name-change proposal was filed with the NGX on April 9, 2026, the stock had risen to N214.9, and it kept rising from there.

Lafarge Africa had begun 2026 trading at N134.50. By June 22, 2026, it currently trades at N316 per share, gaining over +135 percent year-to-date, making it one of the best-performing stocks on the NGX.

At its peak, market capitalisation is currently at N5.09 trillion, making the cement manufacturer the eighth most valuable stock on the NGX.

Read also: Lafarge pays N96.64bn total dividend to shareholders in FY’25

Four names in 67 years: The Deal Behind the Name Change

West African Portland Cement Company (WAPCO) – 49 years (1959–2008)

The company traces its roots to 1959, when it was formally established as a joint venture between Blue Circle Industries (then known as Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers, the UK’s largest cement group), the United Africa Company of Nigeria, and the Western Region government of Nigeria. The first kiln was lit at Ewekoro, Ogun State, on December 3, 1960, and commercial production began in 1961, giving Nigeria a domestic alternative to imported cement at a time when freight and tariff costs made imports prohibitively expensive.

WAPCO went on to list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on February 17, 1979, and by 2004, it had grown into the largest cement producer in the country, helped by a new dry-process plant at Sagamu (1978) and a major capacity expansion at Ewekoro (2003).

This first identity, West African Portland Cement Company, later West African Portland Cement Plc, lasted from 1959 until 2008: about 49 years, by far the longest of any name the company has held.

Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria Plc — 6 years (2008–2014)
The shift came when Lafarge SA of France acquired Blue Circle Industries in 2001, becoming WAPCO’s majority shareholder by inheritance. It took several years for that change of control to translate into a change of brand: the company was formally renamed Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria Plc in February 2008, blending the new French parent’s global Lafarge identity with the legacy WAPCO name that Nigerians already associated with the Elephant Cement brand.

This second name lasted from February 2008 to July 2014, a little under six and a half years.

Read also: Lafarge Africa seeks shareholders approval to rebrand as HBM Nigeria Plc

Lafarge Africa Plc — 12 years (2014–2026)

In 2014, Lafarge and the Swiss group Holcim merged globally to form LafargeHolcim. As part of consolidating their African assets, the Nigerian WAPCO business was merged with Lafarge’s South African operations to create a single pan-African entity.

Shareholders approved the new name, Lafarge Africa Plc, effective July 9, 2014, and the new company formally took shape through 2015, later absorbing Atlas Cement (Port Harcourt) and UNICEM (Calabar) in 2017 to deepen its Nigerian footprint.

This third name, Lafarge Africa Plc, lasted from July 2014 until the 2026 rebrand, just under 12 years, making it the second-longest-held identity in the company’s history.

HBM Nigeria Plc – 2026

Holcim’s December 2024 sale of its 83.81 percent stake to Huaxin Cement, the Chinese group that traces its own roots back to 1907, set up the fourth name.

Shareholders approved the change to HBM Nigeria Plc at the April 30, 2026 AGM, and the new identity was formally unveiled in Lagos shortly after, with HBM standing for Huaxin Building Materials.

Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, group managing director/chief executive officer, told his stakeholders in Lagos during the official launch that the new identity signals a forward-looking phase for the company, driven by operational excellence, innovation, sustainability, and long-term value creation.

“HBM Nigeria Plc represents an exciting new chapter in our journey as a leading building solutions company. While our corporate identity is evolving, our commitment to Nigeria remains unwavering. We remain focused on delivering quality cement, concrete, aggregates, and innovative building solutions that support infrastructure development, housing growth, and industrialisation. This transition positions us for the future while reinforcing the values of excellence, sustainability, customer satisfaction, and responsible business practices that have defined our legacy for decades,” Alade-Akinyemi said.

He explained that the transition to HBM Nigeria Plc will be implemented through a structured, phased process across the company’s nationwide operations.

In his remarks, the Chairman of HBM Nigeria Plc, Gbenga Oyebode, said the transition is designed to position the company for enduring success while remaining true to the values and principles that have shaped its legacy over the decades.

The Financials: What the company looks like now
For the 2025 financial year, revenue increased to over N1.1 trillion, up 53 percent from N696.8 billion in 2024, marking the first time the company has surpassed the one-trillion-naira mark in turnover.

Profit after tax increased to approximately N273 billion, up from N100.1 billion the previous year, representing a 173 percent rise, which means net profit nearly tripled in a single year.

Operating profit rose to about N392 billion, from N193 billion in 2024, which the company attributed to cost optimisation and operational efficiency gains.

Earnings per share surged to N17, up from N6.22 in 2024. The board proposed a final dividend of N6 per ordinary share (600 kobo) for the 2025 financial year, which shareholders approved at the AGM, amounting to a total payout of about N96.65 billion.

That momentum continued into the first quarter of 2026.

According to its interim financial report, the company posted revenue of N334.9 billion in the three months ended March 31, 2026, representing a 35 percent increase from N248.4 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025. Profit after tax surged by 101 percent to N97.95 billion, up from N48.64 billion a year earlier.

The improvement in profitability was driven by stronger sales and widening margins. Gross profit rose by 67 percent to N205.5 billion from N123 billion in the first quarter of 2025, while operating profit almost doubled to N141.3 billion from N71.7 billion. Finance income also rose sharply to N12.5 billion from N1.8 billion, helping to boost pre-tax profit to N149.1 billion.