BUA cement, one of Nigeria’s leading cement manufacturing companies has announced a leap in its revenue to N209.4 billion in the 2020 financial year, compared to N175.5 billion in 2019.
Chairman, Board of Directors of BUA Cement plc, Abdul-Samad Rabiu who disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at the 5th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the cement firm said the company experienced growths in all performance indexes notwithstanding Covid- 19 pandemic challenges.
Presenting statements of accounts of BUA, Rabiu explained that the firm’s revenue grew by 19.3 percent while volumes rose to 5.1 million tons in 2020. He also disclosed that the Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Deprecaition and Amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 18.0 percent to N96.8 billion from N81.9 billon in 2019.
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“With EBITDA margin being resilient at 46.2 percent, we also recorded 19.4 percent growth in Profit After Tax (PAT) to N72.3 billion and 19.6 percent rise in Earnings Per Share (ESP) to N2.14 from N1,79 as at 2019”.
Rabiu told the shareholders that the board has recommended an approval of a dividend of N2.067 per ordinary share.
The chairman also informed that BUA plans to commission additional production lines, to raise the firms’ current cement capacity of 11 metric tons per annum in 2021 to 20 metric tons per annum by 2022.
This, according to him is expected to tame the “insatiable and sustained” demand for cement, which leads to exorbitant prices to detriment of builders and potential home owners.
Rabiu said efforts were on for the commissioning of kalambaina line-3, which, according to him, will add 3mmtpa to the existing 8mmtpa in 2021.
Speaking in an interview with the media, BUA chairman advocated for more players in cement industry, noting that the quantity of cement produced by BUA, Dangote and Nafaj could not meet the demand considering the high population of the country of about 220 million people.
He explained that currently, the three cement companies in the country produced about 30 million tones per annum, hence the need to have more players in order to bring down the prices.
Rabiu said though more players would mean more competition for BUA but it was in the best interest of the country.
He however urged Federal Government to do everything possible to bring more investors into the sector inorder to meet the cement demand of Nigerians.
“The high price of cement is of a great concern for me, the price is actually high. We are 210 or 220 million people, 30 million tones of cement per annum is actually low for us.
“No one can really control the price because it depends on demand and supply. We are trying hard to ensure the price is not as high as it is now.
“Nigeria is growing with a huge economy, we need more plants on stream to cater for the rising demand of cement in the country.
“Egypt produces 85 tones of cement per annum and the demand of cement in that country is just 50 million tones per annum and that is why the country sells one of the cheapest price of cement on the continent” he said.
In December, BUA cement announced the signing of an agreement with CBMI, part of the Sinoma Group of China to raise its existing output capacity from a potential 11mmtpa to 20 mmtpa with the construction of 3 additional lines, totaling 9mmtpa.
To enhance its financial flexibility, BUA issued its maiden corporate bond which was oversubscribed leading to raising of N115 billion . The proceeds from the bond issuance were deployed to financing expansion of 3mmmtpa, line -3 plant at kalambaina in Sokoto state.
