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Tag: Lafarge Africa Plc

  • Lafarge launches Nigeria’s first low-carbon ready-mix concrete

    Lafarge launches Nigeria’s first low-carbon ready-mix concrete

    Lafarge Africa Plc has announced the launch of a new product into the market, EcoCrete, Nigeria’s first low-carbon Ready-mix concrete.

    EcoCrete delivers a minimum of 20% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to conventional CEM I concrete, while maintaining the same high performance and reliability. Lafarge’s Abuja Ready-Mix (RMX) plant has been fully converted to 100% EcoCrete production, marking the first phase of this groundbreaking rollout.

    The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Lafarge Africa Plc, Lolu Alade-Akinyemi said that the introduction of EcoCrete expands the company’s portfolio of sustainable solutions, reinforcing its commitment to decarbonizing Nigeria’s construction sector.

    Alade-Akinyemi also stated that the launch of the new product demonstrates the company’s commitment to offering innovative solutions that empower customers to build better with less.

    “The introduction of EcoCrete is another bold step in our mission to enable builders and our customers make smart choices and support Nigeria’s transition to a greener economy. Just like our ECOPlanetcement, EcoCrete represents a game-changing innovation that combines performance with reduced carbon footprint,” he said.

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    Speaking on the benefits of the product, Head of Aggregates and Readymix, Lafarge Africa Plc, Derek Williamson explained that EcoCrete offers superior performance across a wide range of applications including housing, commercial buildings, roads and bridges.

    Williamson stated that the introduction of the new product would certainly pave way for contractors, engineers, and architects to meet their sustainability goals without compromising on strength, durability, or workability.

    “EcoCrete provides superior performance while significantly reducing carbon emissions in the environment. It is versatile and reliable for a wide range of applications from residential housing to commercial and infrastructure projects. With EcoCrete, builders and developers can now make environmentally conscious choices without compromising on strength, durability, or workability,” he added.

    Also commenting, the Head of Innovation and New Product Development, Lafarge Africa Plc, Emmanuel Ilaboya, described the product as the preferred solution to tackling the challenges posed byclimate change in the country.

    “EcoCrete is more than just a product; it is a climate-smart innovation designed to address the urgent need for sustainable construction. EcoCrete represents an innovative concrete solution developed through extensive research and testing. With EcoCrete, we provide a scalable alternative that significantly lowers CO₂ emissions and supports Nigeria’s path towards sustainable development,” he added.

  • Lafarge Africa partners Ogun govt to drive one-million tree planting mission

    Lafarge Africa partners Ogun govt to drive one-million tree planting mission

    Lafarge Africa Plc, a leading innovative and sustainable building solutions company and manufacturer of a range of cement brands, partnered with the Ogun State Government to commemorate Ogun Tree Planting Day 2025 by embarking on a large-scale tree planting exercise and beautification of the second entrance of the Ogun State Secretariat, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, recently.

    Ogun Tree Planting Day 2025, observed every second Saturday of August, is an initiative of the Ogun State Government to promote environmental sustainability through afforestation.

    The 2025 edition, themed ‘Trees, Sustain Life,’ focused on planting one million trees across 20 local government areas in the state.

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    According to the Group Managing Director/CEO, Lafarge Africa Plc, Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, who was represented by the Head of Sustainability and Sponsorships, Lafarge Africa Plc, Gabriel Pollyn, the exercise aligns with the company’s decarbonization agenda and quarry rehabilitation efforts.

    Alade-Akinyemi noted that Lafarge Africa is committed to tackling climate change, restoring degraded landscapes, and fostering a culture of environmental stewardship within local communities.

  • Ogun community leaders urge firms to emulate Lafarge

    Ogun community leaders urge firms to emulate Lafarge

    Leaders of Isoso Community in Shagamu GRA, Ogun State, have praised  Lafarge Africa Plc. for building the first police station in the community.

    The community leaders spoke during the handover  of the police station to officers of the Nigerian Police Force. They said other companies should emulate Lafarge Africa’s gesture.

    Chairman, Royal Initiative for Development of Shagamu Community (RIDSCO), Sammy Ogunjimi, said the project was started by the Isoso Community leaders before RIDSCO came in but was put on hold due to financial constraints.

    “We faced challenges beyond our expectations and we reached out to Lafarge Africa to support us. They accepted and today, we are here for the handover ceremony. This would not have been possible without them. We have a lot of ongoing projects aimed at developing our community and we depend on partners like Lafarge Africa. I urge other companies to emulate what Lafarge Africa is doing. Having this police station will improve security within the community,” Ogunjimi said.

    Also, the state Commissioner of Police, Lanre Ogunlowo, stressed the need for security presence in the community.

    “While driving to this location, I understand the reason why there is a need for a police station in this vicinity.  Communities always want to have police presence, but there is a difference between wanting something and making it happen.

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    “We are grateful for the resolve of the community to make this happen. We will provide logistics and personnel for effective operation.

    “I also call on the community to hold us accountable for our work and maintenance of this property.

    “Ogun State is the most industrialized state in Nigeria and Shagamu is part of this.

    There is a need to provide a secure environment for businesses and we will also support them to achieve this.”

     Head of Sustainability and Sponsorships, Lafarge Africa Plc., who represented the Group Managing Director/CEO (Lolu Alade-Akinyemi),  Gabriel Pollyn, said it is a demonstration of the company’s commitment to public safety and the development of their host communities.

    “This police station is a testament to Lafarge Africa’s dedication to fostering sustainable development and improving the quality of life in the communities where we operate,” Pollyn added.

    Head of the Isoso Family, Alhaji Ganiyu Oladipo, explained that the family donated the land and laid the foundation in 2020. He commended Lafarge Africa for the gesture.

    At the ceremony was  Oba Adewale Osiberu(Iruganyin Ekun III), the Elepe of Epe, who represented the Oba  Babatunde Adewale, the Akarigbo/Paramount Ruler of Remo Land, among others

  • Lafarge Africa doubles net profit to N100b

    Lafarge Africa doubles net profit to N100b

    Lafarge Africa Plc recorded well-rounded performance in 2024 with a double in profit and 72 per cent growth in sales.

    Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of Lafarge Africa for the year ended December 31, 2024 showed that turnover rose by 72 per cent from N405.50 billion in 2023 to N696.76 billion in 2024. Operating profit grew by 89 per cent from N102.02 billion to N193.01billion. Operating margin thus improved from 25 per cent in 2023 to 28 per cent in 2024. Profit after tax jumped by 96 per cent to N100 billion. Earnings per share thus increased from N3.17 to N6.22.

    Chief Executive Officer, Lafarge Africa Plc, Lolu Alade-Akinyemi described the company’s outstanding financial performance as a testament to its strong market positioning.

    According to him, strategic initiatives drove the group’s sales even while the company continued decarbonizing its environment through emission reduction and converting waste into energy.

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    He noted that despite inflationary pressure on purchasing power which has affected the business, the Nigerian infrastructure and construction sector has witnessed tremendous growth.

    “We also leveraged on innovation and operational efficiency to deliver strong products and solutions into the building market, drive cost improvement, creating a great environment for our people to thrive and delivering value to our stakeholders,” Alade-Akinyemi said.

    He assured that despite operating challenges, the company remains resilient, leveraging innovation and green growth in line with its sustainability ambitions, while also delivering value to its stakeholders.

    Said he:  ”Lafarge Africa Plc remains committed to strengthening its leadership position in offering environmental friendly building solutions, while driving long-term profitability.

     “We maintain our positive outlook for 2025, with market recovery expected to continue at similar growth with 2024. We will continue to maximize volume opportunities across our markets and actively manage our costs. We remain committed to our sustainability ambitions and strategy of ‘Accelerating Green Growth’ through innovative building solutions and delivery of stakeholder value”.

    He expressed appreciation to its esteemed customers, employees and all other stakeholders for their commitment, despite the macroeconomic headwinds being experienced in the industry.

  • Lafarge holds Literacy competition

    Lafarge Africa Plc, a leading cement and building solutions provider has announced the commencement of its 4th Annual National Literacy Competition with regional run-offs in October and the Grand finale in November.

    The competition is in line with the company’s sustainability strategy – The 2030 Plan – which stipulates its ambition for the construction –with a vision of enhancing the quality of life for all.

    State run-offs were held in the month of September and regional finals are taking place across the country this October. The grand finale for this year will hold in November in Lagos where six winners (three boys and three girls) will be awarded national prizes. Public school students from the 109 senatorial districts in the country are taking part in the competition. To evaluate the reading and writing abilities of the pupils, tests would be conducted on essay/summary writing and spelling bees.

    For the past four years, Lafarge Africa Plc has held the National Literacy Competition to support government efforts in raising the standard of English Language in public primary schools. Primary school students between the ages of 9 and 13 years are the primary target for this competition.

    Since the inception of the competition, over 200,000 primary school pupils across 244 local government areas (LGAs) have been impacted.

    The competition is being organised with support from the respective State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and Lafarge Africa’s implementation partner, the Ovie Brume Foundation.

    The Director of Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development, Mrs. Folashade Ambrose-Medebem while commenting on the vision of this initiative remarked: “We want to help create more literacy enhancement opportunities for several indigent students across Nigeria. We have been doing this successfully for the past four years and we are quite pleased with the positive impact we have made so far. It’s all about touching the lives of all our diverse people in a sustainable way.’

    Mrs. Ambrose- Medebem further stated that Lafarge Africa Plc understands the key role education plays in the development of any society hence the need to engage the leaders of tomorrow on critical literacy skills at an early stage.

     

     

     

  • Ashaka Cement quits NSE

    Ashaka Cement quits NSE

    Ashaka Cement Plc has voluntarily delisted from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for violation of the exchange free float deficiency provision of 20 per cent.

    The company announced its voluntary withdrawal in a statement posted on NSE website by the company’s directors.

    “The Board of Directors of Ashaka Cement Plc has opted for a voluntarily delisting of the company from the NSE in violation of the Exchange’s Free Float Deficiency provision of 20 per cent,’’ the statement read in part.

    It stated that Lafarge Africa Plc currently holds 84.97 per cent of Ashaka Cement, bringing the free float that was tradable on the NSE to 15.03 per cent.

    This is against the 20 per cent stipulated by the Exchange.

    The company opted for voluntary delist to avoid NSE enforcement action of regulatory delisting because the free float deficiency was not likely to be remedied.

    It had decided to operate as an unlisted entity.

    “Besides the free float deficiency, the directors said over the last five years, there has been little or no trading activity with only 0.20 per cent of the shares held by the minority shareholders being traded.

    “Neither the company nor any shareholders are benefiting from the continued listing as shareholders are not getting any exit opportunity. “And their investments have been locked up while they find it difficult to dispose of their shareholding.

    “Moreover, the company is bearing unnecessary cost in complying with its listing obligations,” the directors stated.

    Through the voluntary delisting of AshakaCem, they are exercising a regulatory provision that will shield the company from any enforcement action that the NSE may effect.

    They are also providing an exit consideration to minority shareholders, who do not wish to remain in an unlisted company.’’

    NAN reports that the company had in 2016 notified the NSE of its intention to exit and gave shareholders options.

    The shareholders of Ashaka Cement, who have exercised their option to exit the company prior to the delisting, would receive 57 Lafarge Africa shares for 202 Ashaka shares.

    They will also receive a N2 per share cash consideration.

    On the other hand, shareholders, who do not want to remain in the unlisted Ashaka Cement, would be entitled to receive a payment of N15.74 per share from the company.

  • Road safety: Lafarge Africa employs community road marshals

    Road safety: Lafarge Africa employs community road marshals

    As Lafarge Africa Plc continues to promote Safety in its operations and beyond, the building solutions company has facilitated the training and employment of about 16 youths in parts of Cross River state to work as community road marshals in two local government areas in the state.

    Addressing newsmen, the company’s Director of Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development, Mrs. Folashade Ambrose-Medebem said the Road Safety Awareness Campaign was part of the company’s corporate social investments in the area of safety.

    Lafarge Logistics Director, Bruno Hounkpati whose team put the entire Safety campaign together said the objective of the campaign is to increase safety consciousness and encourage the involvement of regular residents in road safety management in the state.

    Mr Hounkpati said the company was in partnership with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) in the state to facilitate the safety awareness campaign in the area. “Lafarge Africa will pay the wages of all the newly recruited community road marshals,” he added.

    The Community Road Marshals will serve as first respondents to issues pertaining to road challenges and also give traffic directions to trucks and other road users. They will also facilitate timely dissemination of information and quicken the response time when there are emergency incidents on the road.

    The road safety awareness campaign involves educating and training all road users on the safe use of roads including how to interpret roads signs either as a motorist, motorcyclist or pedestrians. Over 250 Community members including motorcycle riders popularly called Okada have benefited from the awareness programme.

    All the Okada riders received crash helmets and reflective vest from Lafarge Africa Plc to enhance their safety on the road at any time of the day.

    The benefitting communities are Akpabuyo and Akamkpa local government areas.

  • Lafarge Africa has better prospects for returns, say analysts

    Lafarge Africa has better prospects for returns, say analysts

    The emergence of Lafarge Africa Plc would lead to better returns and benefits for the investors, the Nigerian capital market and the African cement industry.

    Investment experts and advisors told The Nation that the decision of Lafarge to consolidate its Nigerian and South African businesses under a single entity was a synergistic strategic move that could change the game plan in the Nigerian investment market, the cement industry and African mergers and acquisitions industry.

    Lafarge on July 9, 2014 received overwhelming shareholders’ approval to consolidate its cement businesses in Nigeria and combine these with South African operations to create a leading sub-Saharan building materials giant to be known as Lafarge Africa Plc. The consolidation is being done by transferring Lafarge’s assets in South Africa and Nigeria to Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc.

    Under the transaction, Lafarge Group will transfer its direct and indirect shareholdings in Lafarge South Africa Holding Limited of 72.4 per cent and its equity stakes in three other cement companies in Nigeria-United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited (35%), Ashaka Cement Plc, (58.61%) and Atlas Cement Company Limited (100%) to Lafarge Wapco for a cash consideration of $200 million and the issuance of some 1.4 billion Lafarge Africa shares to the Lafarge Group. Lafarge Africa, which would retain Lafarge Wapco’s subsisting listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), is estimated to have an initial market capitalization of over $3 billion (about N468 billion), making it the 6th largest Company on the NSE by market capitalization.

    Following the shareholders’ approval and other regulatory processes, Lafarge Wapco last week formally notified the NSE of the change in its name to Lafarge Africa Plc, paving the way for the impending listing of the consolidation shares.

    Since the July 9 approval, Lafarge Wapco’s share price has risen by about 7.1 per cent as against the average decline of 0.91 per cent recorded by the Nigerian stock market in July. Lafarge Wapco’s share price closed at the weekend at N120 as against its closing price of N112.07 on July 9.

    In emailed responses to The Nation’s enquiries, equity advisors and market experts in several leading investment firms, which are not involved in the Lafarge transaction, said they believed the emergence of Lafarge Africa would create better values for shareholders through increased dividends and capital appreciation as well as the cement industry through a much more competitive pricing and quality scenarios.

    According to them, the Lafarge Africa transaction could encourage other multinationals and Nigerian companies to further explore the potential for mergers and acquisitions, thus stimulating the investment markets.

    Investment advisors and analysts at Lead Capital Plc, Cardinal Stone Partners and Sterling Capital Markets among others agreed that the emergence of Lafarge Africa could directly and indirectly boost the Nigerian stock market through increased liquidity and returns on the Lafarge Africa stock and general inducement of mergers and acquisitions.

    They also agreed that the decision to use the Nigeria-based entity as the vehicle for the consolidation reflected Lafarge’s foresights and depth of the potential of the Nigerian cement market while also holding on to opportunities that the two largest African economies-Nigeria and South Africa, could create in continuing bilateral relationships.

    Head, research and investment advisory, Sterling Capital Markets, Sewa Wusu, said investors and the cement industry would benefit significantly from the Lafarge Africa transaction.

    “I think the Nigerian market stands to benefit immensely from this strategic move. We are going to witness increased capacity in cement production in Nigeria as these companies struggle with strategic initiatives to enhance quality in cement production in order to increase market share. This is also a positive development for the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), particularly the investors,” Wusu said.

    According to him, the Lafarge Africa transaction would enhance competition and compel fringe players in the cement industry to fine-tune their strategies to carve their own market share in their own chosen niche environment as the competition increases.

    “Going forward, we expect to see significant increase in returns in terms of dividend declaration, share price appreciation coupled with renewed interest by portfolio managers, both domestic and foreign as they continue to further tilt their investment decisions in favour of the company due to anticipated returns,” Wusu, also an economist and equity investment specialist, said.

    He added that the global cement outlook for the African market provides a strong support base for the realization of the immediate and long-term gains from the Lafarge Africa transaction.

    “The cement industry, not only in Nigeria but also other African countries, has huge prospects due to the continent’s huge infrastructure deficit. Most countries are now embarking on huge infrastructure financing to fix these problems in Africa. As such, there is huge and massive demand for cement in the continent. This clearly is huge opportunities for cement companies going forward and I think Lafarge is positioning to tap these huge markets and deliver good returns to its shareholders,” Wusu said.

    Group head, research, Lead Capital Plc, Sadiq Waziri, said the consolidation into Lafarge Africa will translate into greater efficiency through the advantages of economies of scale with the emergent company in good stead to better serve the African market, hence increase in revenue for the listed entity.

    He noted that the combined entity will immediately be producing 12 million metric tonnes of cement per year as against Lafarge Wapco’s pre-consolidation 4.5 million metric tonnes per year adding that further planned capacity expansion would increase the new company’s market share.

    “I would expect the combined entity would generate higher revenues, higher returns on asset and capital, and robust market valuation matrix. This should move the share price northwards. Besides, since the combined entity will be listed, one should expect the new Lafarge Africa to increase its number of shares to accommodate the merger. There is prospect of raising additional capital through the stock market to buttress this. This would increase the total market capitalization of Lafarge Africa, which may result in greater turnover in trades,” Waziri said.

    He pointed out that Lafarge Africa, based and listed in Nigeria, will have better opportunity to improve its market share and balance cross-country risks and benefits to deliver better returns to shareholders.

    According to him, the larger cement market in Africa is in Nigeria– Nigeria has a growing real estate sector estimated at  N6.4 trillion ($41.2 billion) and would need  $20 billion a year, or up to $200 billion in the next 10 years to finance its infrastructure deficit, which would require lots of cement.

    “The Lafarge Africa deal is a consolidation of related companies. This is a sensible step by Lafarge Worldwide to have their African operations in one entity. We believe the Lafarge style consolidation is operationally efficient, so it is possible for other multinationals to adopt this strategy. We think the fundamentals of Lafarge are strong as it attains peak capacity utilization at its Ewekoro plant and as cost containment initiatives start to pay off,” said analysts at Cardinal Stone Partners.

    Investment advisor, Cardinal Stone Partners, Damilola Lawal, noted that the consolidation would be good for existing Lafarge Wapco shareholders because the new entity would enjoy increased efficiency from the elimination of redundant capacity, economies of scale, and higher borrowing capacity.

    According to him, there could also be expect better synergies across Lafarge’s cement manufacturing, aggregates and Ready Mix Concrete lines and better geographical diversification.

    Analysts at Cardinal Stone Partners outlined that while the South African cement market is seen as mature, the Nigerian cement market is still emerging, with large infrastructural and housing deficits that will fuel growth in the future, thus putting the Lafarge Africa in vantage position to diversify and improve earnings across the economies.

    They noted that the expected increased capacity in the cement industry would definitely lead to an increase in competition among the cement players.

  • Shareholders approve N568b Lafarge Africa

    Shareholders approve N568b Lafarge Africa

    The consolidation of Lafarge’s cement businesses in Nigeria and South Africa into a Nigerian-listed building materials giant to be known as Lafarge Africa Plc crossed the Rubicon yesterday as shareholders of Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc overwhelmingly approved the historic consolidation.

    The consolidation would be done by transferring Lafarge’s assets in South Africa and Nigeria to Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria, which would subsequently be renamed Lafarge Africa. Lafarge Africa, which would retain Lafarge Wapco’s subsisting listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), is estimated with initial market capitalisation of $3 billion, about N468 billion.

    At the annual general meeting yesterday in Lagos, shareholders also approved a new capital issue of N100 billion, which could raise the market value of the emergent Lafarge Africa to more than N568 billion. After the consolidation, Lafarge Africa will be the 6th most capitalised quoted company in Nigeria.

    Lafarge Wapco’s share price rose by 1.71 per cent with addition of N1.88 to close yesterday at the NSE at N112.07. This translated into market value of N336 billion, the 8th most capitalised company on the stock market.  Ashaka Cement, which is also part of the consolidation, also rose by 2.07 per cent with addition of 60 kobo to close at N29.60 per share. This implied a market capitalisation of N66 billion, the 29th position on the NSE.

    All the resolutions relating to the consolidation were passed by a significant majority of the eligible shareholders with approvals ranging between 78 per cent and 98 per cent, notwithstanding that Lafarge Group abstained from voting on the special resolutions.

    Under the transaction, Lafarge Group will transfer its direct and indirect shareholdings in Lafarge South Africa Holding Limited of 72.4 per cent and its equity stakes in three other cement companies in Nigeria-United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited, 35 per cent; Ashaka Cement Plc, 58.61 per cent and Atlas Cement Company Limited, 100 per cent; to Lafarge Wapco for a cash consideration of $200 million and the issuance of some 1.4 billion Lafarge Africa shares to the Lafarge Group.

    Shareholders who spoke at the meeting roundly commended Lafarge Wapco for its improving fundamentals and dividends. Shareholders’ leaders who spoke at the meeting included Chief Sola Abodunrin, chairman, Ibadan Zone Shareholders Association (IBZA); Sir Sunny Nwosu, national coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN); Chief Timothy Adesiyan, president, Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA); Mr. Nonah Awoh and Bishop Goodluck Akporie of Onitsha Zone Shareholders Association among others.

    They applauded the performance of the company noting that they expected the emergence of Lafarge Africa to lead to further improvements in the performance and returns of the company. They approved a dividend per share of N3.30 for the 2013 business year as against N1.20 paid for the previous year.

    Speaking at meeting, chairman, Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Osunkeye said the overwhelming supports from majority of the minority shareholders were strongly reflected the fact that they saw the strong value opportunity in the creation of Lafarge Africa.

    “I am extremely pleased with the outcome of today’s vote.  Lafarge Africa is not only a value enhancing transaction for shareholders but it will provide significant value to all stakeholders through the creation of a Nigerian listed Sub-Saharan Africa building materials giant that will be better able to support the development needs of our continent,” Osunkeye said.

    According to him, the newly created entity will have a combined production capacity of around 12 million metric tonnes comprising Lafarge Wapco’s 4.5 million metric tonnes, Lafarge South Africa Holdings’ 3.6 million metric tonnes, United Cement Company of Nigeria’s 2.5 million metric tonnes, Ashaka Cement’s 1.0 million metric tonnes and Atlas Cement Company – an import operation with bagging capacity of 0.5 million metric tonnes.

    He noted that there were already projects underway to expand on this capacity and by 2017; Lafarge Africa Plc will have installed cement capacity of 17 million metric tonnes while the inclusion of South Africa also provides operations in aggregates and fly ash.

    In his remarks, Guillaume Roux, who will be the managing director and chief executive of Lafarge Africa Plc, said the creation of Lafarge Africa would allow the company to continue in its drive to be the best in the areas in which it operates.

    According to him, the consolidation implies a broader geographic coverage which means that Lafarge Africa will be better positioned to serve its customers more widely.

    “It also places the company in a stronger position to be able to benefit from the economic growth and development opportunities available in both Nigeria and South Africa,” Roux said.

    With the approval yesterday, Lafarge Africa will move on to require regulatory approval from the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) to finalise the transaction. This is anticipated to take place during the third quarter of 2014. Once approved and in line with Nigerian regulation, a mandatory tender offer will be open to minority shareholders of Ashaka Cement to give them the opportunity to swap their shares for Lafarge Africa’s shares.

    Audited report and accounts of Lafarge Wapco for the year ended December 31, 2013 showed that profit after tax grew by 92 per cent to N28.2 billion in 2013 as against N14.7 billion recorded in 2012. Profit before tax grew by 30 per cent from N21.3 billion to N27.7 billion. Turnover increased by 12 per cent to N98.8 billion as against N87.9 billion in 2012. The company witnessed significant reduction in interest expenses N5.5 billion to N3.8 billion as a result of the reduction in interest charges due to the full repayment of the Naira syndicated bank loans. Consequently, basic earnings per share grew from N4.90 to N9.42; an increase of 92 per cent.

    Lafarge Wapco’s new ready-mix concrete business contributed N1.6 billion to the total turnover of N98.8 billion. The company not only focused on increasing its turnover but has ensured that its operational costs are curtailed without compromising on service to its customers. The strong operational performance and efficient working capital management resulted in an increase in cash holdings of N11.5 billion. With the company being in a more cash positive position, it was able to reduce its debt by 42 per cent, paying off its variable rate medium term syndicated Naira and foreign currency loans ahead of tenor. Accordingly, Lafarge Wapco’s debt position closed 2013 at N21.5 billion comprising a fixed rate corporate bond and a power intervention fund loan. The debt-to-equity ratio halved to 23 per cent in 2013 as against 55 per cent in 2012.