BUA Cement Q1 pre-tax profit rises by 26.2%

One of Africa’s leading cement manufacturers, BUA Cement Plc, has announced a 25.1percent increase in revenue of N54billion in its financial results for the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2020.

BUA Cement’s profit before Tax (PBT) increased by 15.7percent from N17.4 billion, as at Q1’2019 to N20.1 billion in Q1’2020 while Profit After Tax (PAT) in Q1 2020 stood at N19.8 billion – a 26.2percent increase of from N15.7 billion in Q1’2019. This was contained in a filing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Speaking on the results, the Managing Director/CEO of BUA Cement Plc, Yusuf Binji said the excellent performance in the Q1 financial results amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic is yet another landmark of the company since its listing on the Nigeria Stock Exchange.

The company’s performance was buoyed by an increase in production capacity from 5million metric tonnes at the end of Q1’2019 to 8million metric tonnes currently; its strong product differentiation strategy which translates to an increasing appreciation of BUA Cement product offering and a growing distribution network across existing and new markets.

Binji said: “The turn of the year witnessed the achievement of yet another milestone, with the completion of listing requirements of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), emerging the third-most capitalised company on the exchange; with a market capitalisation of N1.2 trillion ($3.3 billion) and the de-listing of the shares of CCNN Plc. Subsequently, BUA Cement was included as a constituent of the MSCI frontier market index in February.

“Undoubtedly, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic will have broader ramifications to the world and indeed the world economy, even as governments institute measures to curtail further spread of the virus. Nationally, Nigeria has not been immune to the wave of the virus; with the government instituting safety measures whilst building capacity, in preparedness for possible high number of cases.

“In response to the global pandemic, we implemented our “COVID business continuity program”, built into our corporate governance framework. This minimises disruptions along the value chain; prioritises the safety of workers and customers; and assesses probable scenarios a prolonged lockdown would have on the business.

“Clearly, our strong-showing epitomises the effect of further growth in output but most importantly, a growing appreciation of the value and service offering we continue to afford customers in the market place: with sales revenue increasing by 25.1percent (y/y) to N54 billion. We continue to anticipate changes to customer and market behaviour, aimed at further strengthening our value model, even as we continue our push into ‘new markets’.

“As the COVID-19 virus makes landfall, we believe the current measures in place, should help minimise plausible downside risks; nevertheless, poised to take advantage of an upturn in market activities”, Binji added.