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Tag: Lafarge Africa

  • Lafarge Africa invests N132m in truck driving school

    Lafarge Africa invests N132m in truck driving school

    In furtherance of its commitment to safety in its operations, Lafarge Africa Plc, is investing over N132m to train hundreds of truck drivers in the country.

    The initiative, which is the first of its kind in Nigeria, is part of Lafarge’s three-year strategic training plan to train 600 drivers over a three year period. Already, the first batch of 200 drivers have commemenced training at the firm’s driving institute in UniCem headoffice in Calabar, Cross River State.

    Lafarge Africa Director of Logistics, Bruno Hounkpati, revealed that the investment in training drivers represents the firm’s commitment to its driving institute aimed at modelling drivers’ behaviour and at the same time arming them with adequate training for truck driving.

    The ultimate goal, Hounkpati explained, is to contribute to safer roads.

    He added that such investment will further promote professionalism among truck drivers and create jobs with the firm’s third party transport companies.

    Head of the driving school, Osaze Aghatise, explained that one major way to reduce road related incidents and achieve his firm’s goal of zero harm, is to raise drivers’ standard of training in its operation and ensure that drivers think about safety first and always while on the road.

    “The right training will ensure that drivers think about safety first and always and this will ensure that our roads become safer because our truck drivers would be more conscious and responsible,”he said.

    This, according to him, requires the right training and coaching to understand the risks involved in performing a task to shape behaviour and develop safety processes.

    Under the initiative, selected trainees will go through an initial rigorous screening, thorough in-classroom training, state of the art driving simulation and on the road coaching and assessment. Aghatise said instructors with strong local and international experience and certification, have been carefully selected to ensure that trainees are taken through the highest standard of driver training.

    “Going forward, Lafarge contractors will only use drivers from the school,” he said.

    The driving school, he disclosed, is in partnership with Transport Services Limited, a fleet management company and the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC).

    Available data revealed that road transportation accounts for 90 percent of freight and passenger movement in the country and heavy goods vehicles, like trucks/trailers/articulated vehicles are the dominant means of haulage.

    According to data compiled by the FRSC in 2016, commercial vehicles accounted for 53.8 per cent of transportation in Nigeria. The data also showed that 8,876 commercial vehicles were involved in road accidents.

    Aghatise noted that most Nigerian truck drivers graduate from motor mates with inadequate and non-structured training, thereby making it difficult for them to adapt to the challenges of fleet operation and utilisation, safe driving behaviours, non-productivity and unemployable.

     

  • Lafarge Africa, Mutual Benefits seek N133.6b from shareholders

    Lafarge Africa Plc and Mutual Benefits Plc have launched bids to raise more than N133.6 billion through rights issue of new ordinary shares.

    The two companies yesterday separately filed application with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), seeking to raise new equity funds from existing shareholders.

    Lafarge Africa plans to raise N131.65 billion through a rights issue of about 3.1 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N42.50 per share. The new shares will be pre-allotted to shareholders on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every nine ordinary shares held as at the close of business yesterday.

    Mutual Benefits is seeking to raise N2 billion through a rights issue of 4.0 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at nominal value of 50 kobo per share. The rights will be pre-allotted on the basis of one new ordinary share for every two ordinary shares held as at the close of business yesterday.

    LafargeHolcim, which holds the majority equity stake of 72.59 per cent in Lafarge Africa, has already indicated it will subscribe fully to its rights. LafargeHolcim had proposed to pick up its rights under a debt-for-equities deal that will see conversion of LafargeHolcim’s dollar-based loan to equities.

    Many Nigerian shareholders had raised objections to the debt-for-equities deal, which they said could give the majority core investor undue advantage to increase its controlling equity stake in the company.

    Chairman, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr. Mobolaji Balogun, said the recapitalisation would help to reduce the group’s exposure to adverse foreign currency translation losses as experienced in 2016 following a 40 per cent depreciation of the Naira against the Dollar.

    He noted that the decision of LafargeHolcim to convert existing loans into equity demonstrates the core investor’s continued belief in the Nigeria story, pointing out that the rights issue is the largest so far in the Nigerian capital market and the largest investment in a listed company by an investor.

    According to him, the rights issue will help to reduce the group’s foreign currency exposure by 50 per cent while the remaining portion of the debt, with the support from LafargeHolcim, has been refinanced and hedged for 12 months.

    Lafarge Africa ended the third quarter with a marginal recovery in profitability as significant increase in net interest expense constrained the bottom-line. Despite about 39 per cent growth in sales, Lafarge Africa ended the third quarter with a pre-tax profit of N1.08 billion.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of Lafarge Africa Plc for the period ended September 30, 2017 showed that sales rose by 38.9 percent to N223.67 billion in 2017 as against N161.04 billion recorded in comparable period of 2016. Gross profit also surged from N18.11 billion in 2016 to N57.31 billion in 2017. The cement manufacturer pooled operating income of N18.40 billion in 2017 compared with operating loss of N32.97 billion in comparable period of 2016.

    However, net finance expense jumped from N7.4 billion to N17.31 billion. Profit before tax thus depressed to N1.08 billion, albeit a considerable recovery when compared with pre-tax loss of N40.37 billion in 2016. After taxes, net profit stood at N937.91 million by September 2017 compared with net loss of N37.4 billion in 2017. Earnings per share was modest at 10 kobo in 2017 compared with net loss per share of N8.27 in corresponding period of 2016.

     

  • Lafarge Africa ends share reconstruction with AshakaCem

    Lafarge Africa ends share reconstruction with AshakaCem

    The Board of AshakaCem has approved the reconstruction of shares held by its shareholders in Lafarge Africa. The approval was given at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held in Abuja last Monday.

    Under the arrangement, shareholders of AshakaCem will receive 57 Lafarge Africa shares for every 202 shares held in AshakaCem shares. This development makes AshakaCem a fully-owned subsidiary of Lafarge Africa and offers its shareholders the window to liquidate their investments following the delisting of the Gombe-based cement maker from the trading floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange last July.

    The Chief Financial Officer of Lafarge Africa, Bruno Bayet, said: “The minority shareholders of Ashaka now have the opportunity to be part of Lafarge Africa with total installed production capacity of over 14 million metric tonnes per annum and strong growth prospects.”

    For the nine-month period ended in September 2017, Lafarge Africa reported a four-fold increase in operating margins. Operating EBITDA grew to  41.7 billion while net sales increased by 39 percent to  223.7b. Despite lower ceme, the company’s turnaround plan and energy strategy delivered EBITDA margins of 30 percent. For instance, AshakaCem operations utilised 82 percent of coal over the period.

    Speaking at the EGM in Abuja, CEO of Lafarge Africa, Michel Puchercos, said: “We remain committed to Ashaka in good times and in bad times because we have a long-term view of our investments. Ashaka cement as a brand has for decades become synonymous with housing and infrastructural solutions in the entire north. We shall maintain that legacy of quality even in the face of temporary setbacks.”

    Though now a 100 percent subsidiary of Lafarge Africa, Ashaka cement will have its own board of directors. Also, sale of cement products under the AshakaCem brand will continue in the north.

  • Interest expense weighs down Lafarge Africa

    Lafarge Africa Plc ended the third quarter with a marginal recovery in profitability but significant increase in net interest expense constrained the bottom-line. Despite about 39 per cent growth in sales, Lafarge Africa ended the quarter with a pre-tax profit of N1.08 billion.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of the cement company for the period ended September 30, 2017 showed that sales rose by 38.9 per cent to N223.67 billion in 2017 as against N161.04 billion recorded in comparable period of 2016. Gross profit also surged from N18.11 billion in 2016 to N57.31 billion in 2017. The cement manufacturer pooled operating income of N18.40 billion in 2017 compared with operating loss of N32.97 billion in comparable period of 2016.

    However, net finance expense jumped from N7.4 billion to N17.31 billion. Profit before tax thus depressed to N1.08 billion, albeit a considerable recovery when compared with pre-tax loss of N40.37 billion in 2016. After taxes, net profit stood at N937.91 million by September 2017 compared with net loss of N37.4 billion in 2017. Earnings per share was modest at 10 kobo in 2017 compared with net loss per share of N8.27 in corresponding period of 2016.

    The management of the company said the top-line performance was driven by the success of the group’s energy strategy, which helped to deliver four-fold increase in operating margins to N41.7 billion with margins stable at 30 per cent.

    According to the company, persistent gas shortages in the Southwest did not deter operations at the plants of the building solutions provider as the plants ran efficiently on alternative energy sources.

    Lafarge Africa Chief Executive Officer, Michel Puchercos, noted that although gas shortages in the Southwest persisted, for the nine-month period, Ewekoro II utilised 65 per cent of coal and petcoke combined, as gas supply was low at about 36 per cent.

    “Ewekoro I plant utilised 44 per cent of alternative fuels, with gas supply in the region of 50 per cent while Sagamu achieved about 25 per cent alternative fuel substitution over the same period. Mfamosing plant in the Southeast region, utilised 99 per cent gas in spite of a gas explosion in August. AshakaCem operations utilised 82 per cent of coal over the same period. The energy strategy of Lafarge Africa delivers against the objectives set and enables the development of local businesses,” Puchercos said.

    According to him, stable pricing environment, steady industrial operations, fuel flexibility, execution of commercial and logistics performance improvement plan helped to boost the company performance.

    He noted that the company successfully shipped the first batch of cement to Ghana market, which has been well accepted.

    He pointed out that the decision to attain fuel flexibility was part of the company’s turnaround plan that began in September 2016.

    “Our company continues to recover. Our EBITDA margin expectations in Nigeria for 2017 remains strong at the mid-30s, as we strengthen the performance on the basis of a robust route to market, efficient logistics operation, and cost optimisation programme through fuel flexibility, reduction of foreign exchange exposure and administrative cost optimisation

    “Our South Africa operations would benefit from the aggregate & concrete business, as our cement operations stabilises. Lafarge Africa remains committed to delivering strong performance and create value for our shareholders in 2017,” Puchercos said.

    He, however, cautioned that cement demand in Nigeria was significantly lower than the previous year and is expected to stay low on account of the economic slowdown in the first half of 2017.

  • Lafarge Africa, Nigerian Breweries drag equities to N19b loss

    Nigerian equities traded on a tight balance of bargain-hunting and profit-taking yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), but losses by two highly capitalised companies-Lafarge Africa and Nigerian Breweries, weighed down the overall market position.

    With 19 gainers and losers each, the market appeared to be on a momentary pause after the recent streak of rallies with investors looking up to third quarter earnings of companies to determine the next major move of the market. Many companies indicated yesterday that they have scheduled the board meeting to consider their third quarter earnings, usually the last process before the release of the earnings reports for non-financial companies.

    Lafarge Africa, Nigeria’s second largest cement company, which had indicated a rights issue, declined by N2.39 to close at N54.50. Nigerian Breweries- Nigeria’s second most capitalised quoted company, followed with a loss of N1.10 to close at N168.90.

    With these, the aggregate market value of all quoted companies dipped by N19 billion from its opening value of N12.678 trillion to close at N12.659 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the main index that tracks share prices at the Exchange, dropped marginally by 0.15 per cent to close at 36,776.60 points as against its opening index of 36,831.93 points.  The average year-to-date return slipped marginally to 36.85 per cent.

    Total turnover however stood above average with the exchange of 353.19 million shares valued at N3.26 billion in 4,201 deals. The three most active stocks were Diamond Bank, with 215.76 million shares; Fidelity Bank, 15 million shares and FCMB Group, with 14.59 million shares.

    Other top losers were C & I Leasing, with a drop of 18 kobo to close at N1.74; FBN Holdings, which lost 6.0 kobo to close at N6.08 while Diamond Bank and Custodian and Allied declined by 5.0 kobo each to close at N1 and N3.60 respectively.

    On the upside, Flour Mills of Nigeria, which announced ongoing arrangements for a supplementary capital raising, led the contrarian stocks with a gain of N1.13 to close at N29. Cement Company of Northern Nigeria followed with a gain of 86 kobo to close at N9.32. PZ Cussons Nigeria rose by 50 kobo to close at N23.74. Cadbury Nigeria added 40 kobo to close at N10.40 while Northern Nigeria Flour Mills chalked up 27 kobo to close at N5.77 per share.

  • Lafarge Africa records N9.5b profit in Q1

    Lafarge Africa Plc grew sales by 55.1 per cent and reversed its negative bottom-line with a pre-tax profit of N9.45 billion in the first quarter as the cement company ramped up the use of alternative and logistics efficiency to drive growth.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of Lafarge Africa for the three months ended March 31, 2017 showed that sales rose to N81.31 billion in first quarter 2017 as against N52.42 billion recorded in comparable period of 2016. Gross profit jumped by 168.5 per cent from N7.78 billion in first quarter of 2016 to N20.89 billion in first quarter of 2017.

    Compared with pre-tax loss of N2.22 billion in the first quarter of 2016, the cement company recorded a pre-tax profit of N9.45 billion within the first three months of 2017. Profit after tax also improved significantly to N5.16 billion in first quarter 2017 compared with net loss of N1.87 billion in corresponding period of 2016. Earnings per share thus reversed from a loss of 19 kobo in 2016 to a positive of 92 kobo in 2017.

    The report also showed improvement in the balance sheet of the cement group. Total assets rose to N523.76 billion by March 2017 from N502.49 billion recorded by the period ended December 31, 2016. The balance sheet growth was driven by improvements in both fixed and current assets. Total equity funds also increased from N248.95 billion by December 2016 to N263.38 billion by March 2017.

    Chief Executive Officer, Lafarge Africa Plc, Michel Puchercos, said the first quarter 2017 performance underscored the effectiveness of the turnaround plan of the cement group.

    He noted that the domestic cement volume in the group’s Nigerian operations improved by 6.0 per cent in the first quarter of 2017 compared to last quarter of 2016 due to seasonality, although the market declined compared to last year due to the recession that started in the second quarter of 2016.

    He added that the group’s commercial transformation contributed to improved performance and sustained market share while the group’s logistics and industrial improvement plan delivered the expected benefits.

    Puchercos said the group’s energy optimisation strategy achieved record performance, mitigating gas shortages at low cost, thus earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margin reached 30 per cent.

    He, however, noted that the group’s South African operations were affected by lower volumes in the cement division, despite the price increase from last year.

    “The company continues to focus on cost optimisation, to restore profitability. Overall, we are on track to deliver our ambition for 2017 and maintain our outlook for the cement demand growth of 0 per cent to 2 per cent for Nigeria,” Puchercos said.

    According to him, in spite of the overall decline in cement market in the first quarter of 2017, the group expects a gradual recovery of the Nigerian economy during the second half of the year.

    “Lafarge Africa is well positioned to benefit from expected upturn in the market. Our business turnaround plan will further be consolidated, through local sourcing, fuel flexibility, stable industrial operations, logistics and commercial optimisation initiatives,” Puchercos said.

    He said the South African environment is expected to remain challenging, thus the group will retain its expectation of a flat to declining market, though the commissioning of the new grinding line at the plant, cost containment and commercial excellence programmes should cushion the impact of the declining economic environment on the company’s performance.

  • Lafarge Africa to list 413.2m acquisition shares

    The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has approved the listing of scheme shares from Lafarge Africa’s acquisition of the remaining 50 per cent equity stake in United Cement Company of Nigeria (Unicem) Limited.

    The quotation committee of the Exchange granted approval to Lafarge Africa to issue and list 413.18 million ordinary shares to acquire 50 per cent in Unicem, which were held by Egyptian Cement Holding (ECH) B.V.

    Lafarge Africa recently launched a bid to acquire additional 50 per cent equity stake in Unicem as the cement group seeks to wrap up its consolidation with full ownership of major cement-producing subsidiaries.

    The Board of Directors of Lafarge Africa had approved the acquisition of the 50 per cent equity stake in the Calabar, Cross River-based Unicem, in a bid that will increase Lafarge Africa’s equity stake to 100 per cent.

    The equity stake was held by Egyptian Cement Holding (ECH) BV, an entity that is jointly owned by LafargeHolcim Group and Lafarge Africa. LafargeHolcim’s interest in ECH is held through Holcibel SA. Lafarge Africa will purchase the shares from Holcibel.

    The Board of Directors of Lafarge Africa had approved the issuance of 413.18 million shares as full consideration or payment for the acquisition.

    By the conclusion of the acquisition, Lafarge Africa will own an indirect 100 per cent equity stake in Unicem, which makes the Calabar-based cement firm a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lafarge Africa.

    Lafarge had on July 9, 2014 received 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 was done by transferring Lafarge’s assets in South Africa and Nigeria to Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc.

    Under the transaction, Lafarge Group transferred 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.

  • Lafarge Africa mulls dollar bond to stem forex loss

    Lafarge Africa mulls dollar bond to stem forex loss

    The Board of Directors of Lafarge Africa Plc is considering raising new debt capital to refinance dollar-based debt of its subsidiary after a change in Nigeria’s foreign exchange (forex) regime resulted in a forex loss of N28 billion.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had in June introduced a new flexible foreign exchange policy, freeing the Naira from its long-held peg of N197/$. Under the new flexible foreign exchange system, the apex bank merged all segments of foreign exchange market into a single “window”, which pricing is now determined by market forces with limited intervention from the apex bank. In essence, Naira will be rated according to market forces.

    In a regulatory filing, the board of Lafarge Africa said the group suffered a forex loss of N28 billion due to dollar-based debt of its subsidiary, United Cement Company of Nigeria (Unicem), and directors were considering refinancing part of the dollar-based debt. Lafarge Africa recently concluded issuance of a N60 billion bond to refinance Unicem Naira-based debt.

    Lafarge Africa forewarned investors that the cement group might record lower performance for the second quarter of this year as the foreign loans of Unicem  weighed down the group’s performance.

    Lafarge Africa’s share price dropped by five per cent on Friday and dipped further by 5.03 per cent on Monday to close at N60.45. The cement group in a profit-warning stated that the second quarter results of the year would be affected by the impact of the Naira devaluation against the dollar which resulted in N28 billion unrealised exchange loss.

    The company added that the current gas supply shortage also impacted volumes for the quarter.

    Lafarge Africa stated that the N28 billion unrealised exchange rate loss arose from dollar-based borrowings, which at the time of the devaluation consisted of $300 million shareholder loans and $85 million external loans.

    The cement group explained that the loans were related to United Cement Company of Nigeria (Unicem) Limited and were mainly set up prior to the acquisition by Lafarge Africa Plc of its original 35 per cent stake in Unicem. Lafarge has since then increased its stake in Unicem and held at the time of the devaluation 50 per cent of Unicem, which was fully consolidated. Lafarge now holds 100 per cent of Unicem.

    Lafarge Africa, however, said the N28 billion unrealised exchange loss will have no immediate impact on cashflow, reassuring that Unicem is strategically positioned with its existing 2.5 million metric tonnes capacity and additional 2.5 million metric tonnes expected to come on stream later this year.

    “The board is confident that the various initiatives put in place by the management will provide an improved future performance of Lafarge Africa,” the board assured.

    Key extracts of the audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2015 showed that gross turnover rose from N260.8 billion in 2014 to N267.23 billion in 2015. Gross profit stood at N82.53 billion in 2015 as against N83.03 billion in 2014. Profit before tax dropped from N40.36 billion to N29.27 billion while profit after tax declined from N33.54 billion to N27 billion. Earnings per share thus dropped from N7.67 to N6.29. Total assets however rose from N415.95 billion to N453.01 billion. Shareholders’ funds also improved from N175.58 billion in 2014 to N176.15 billion in 2015.

    The company distributed N13.7 billion as cash dividends and 496.8 million shares as bonus shares to shareholders. The breakdown of the dividend indicated that shareholders will receive a dividend per share of N3 and a bonus share of one for 10 ordinary shares.

    Chairman, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr. Mobolaji Balogun, however, said the group had used the immediate past business year, the first full year after the consolidation of its businesses in Nigeria and South Africa, to strengthen the platform to drive value creation for shareholders and other stakeholders.

    He noted that the company sees growth opportunities in the year and beyond for the building material sector.

    According to him, the 2016 Federal Government budget indicates a significant increase in the spending on infrastructure and capital projects. The government recognises the urgent need to re-invest in Nigerian infrastructure to catalyse much needed growth.

    He outlined that the company has continued to build on the successful consolidation of its businesses through some strategic initiatives including ongoing efforts to fully consolidate the ownership of Ashaka Cement and Unicem.

    Group managing director, Lafarge Africa, Mr. Michel Puchercos noted that while the South African market may remain challenging in 2016, the company plans to leverage on investments made last year within the cement operations with a revamped sales team and route to market, specifically in aggregates.

    He added that the company is set to continue benefitting from its strong network delivering results in South Africa with two new quarries, being opened in the Gauteng market and Ready-Mix growth.

    He pointed out that the Nigerian operations of Lafarge Africa having been successfully unified and rationalised under one management team, the group is cognizant of the different stakeholders’ expectations and will drive efficiencies that will ultimately, generate remarkable synergy savings for overall improved performance.

    “Overall, new strategies in penetrating retail, new geographies and the technical segment are expected to push Lafarge Africa’s volumes to grow above a flat market in all three product lines,” Puchercos said.

  • Lafarge Africa optimistic as shareholders approve N13.7b, 496.8m bonus dividends

    Lafarge Africa optimistic as shareholders approve N13.7b, 496.8m bonus dividends

    Lafarge Africa Plc will leverage on the increase in its production capacity, opportunities from the expansionary government budget and large portfolio of building solutions to grow its market share and deliver better returns to shareholders.

    The board of the cement group gave the assurance at the annual general meeting in Lagos as shareholders approved the distribution of N13.7 billion as cash dividends and 496.8 million shares, as bonus shares. The approval of the dividend was sequel to the approval of the audited report and accounts of the group for the year ended December 31, 2015.

    Chairman, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr. Mobolaji Balogun, said the group had used the immediate past business year, the first full year after the consolidation of its businesses in Nigeria and South Africa, to strengthen the platform to drive value creation for shareholders and other stakeholders.

    He noted that the company sees growth opportunities in 2016 and beyond for the building material sector.

    According to him, this year’s Federal Government budget indicates a significant increase in the spending on infrastructure and capital projects. The government recognises the urgent need to re-invest in Nigerian infrastructure to catalyse much needed growth. With the on-going 2.5 metric tonnes expansion project in Calabar-based United Cement Company (Unicem), which is expected to be commissioned before year end, and plans for Ashaka Cement, Lafarge Africa’s cement production capacity in Nigeria is on the increase and position the group strategically to take advantage of emerging opportunities.

    He outlined that the company has continued to build on the successful consolidation of its businesses through some strategic initiatives including ongoing efforts to fully consolidate the ownership of Ashaka Cement and Unicem.

    He urged shareholders to support the ongoing Voluntary Tender Offer for Ashaka Cement which provides opportunity for the minority shareholders to participate in a much larger growth platform, which Lafarge Africa represents.

    Group Managing Director, Lafarge Africa, Mr. Michel Puchercos noted that while the South African market may remain challenging in the year, the company plans to leverage on investments made last year within the cement operations with a revamped sales team and route to market, specifically in aggregates.

    He added that the company is set to continue benefitting from its strong network delivering results in South Africa with two new quarries, being opened in the Gauteng market and Ready-Mix growth.

    He pointed out that the Nigerian operations of Lafarge Africa having been successfully unified and rationalised under one management team, the group is cognisant of the different stakeholders’ expectations and will drive efficiencies that will ultimately generate remarkable synergy savings for overall improved performance.

    “Overall, new strategies in penetrating retail, new geographies and the technical segment are expected to push Lafarge Africa’s volumes to grow above a flat market in all three product lines,” Puchercos said.

    The breakdown of the dividend indicated that shareholders will receive a dividend per share of N3 and a bonus share of one for 10 ordinary shares. Key extracts of the audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2015 showed that gross turnover rose from N260.8 billion in 2014 to N267.23 billion in 2015. Gross profit stood at N82.53 billion in 2015 as against N83.03 billion in 2014. Profit before tax dropped from N40.36 billion to N29.27 billion while profit after tax declined from N33.54 billion to N27 billion. Earnings per share thus dropped from N7.67 to N6.29. Total assets however rose from N415.95 billion to N453.01 billion. Shareholders’ funds also improved from N175.58 billion in 2014 to N176.15 billion in 2015.

  • Lafarge Africa to raise N60b in new bond issue

    Lafarge Africa to raise N60b in new bond issue

    •New MD takes over amid declining sales 

    Lafarge Africa Plc plans to raise N60 billion through a

    short-to-medium term bonds as the cement company moves to refinance its debts and restructure its balance sheet.

    Lafarge Africa has submitted application for the approval of the bond issue to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The N60 billion will be raised through second tier bond with short-to-medium tenors of two, three and five years.

    The debt capital raising will be through a book building process and it is expected that the book building will commence this month.

    Country Communications Director, Lafarge Africa Plc, Viola Graham-Douglas and Head, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations, Lafarge Africa Plc, Segun Okunsanwo, confirmed that the company has submitted application to SEC for the bond issue.

    The net proceeds of the bond issue will be used to refinance the third party debts of a subsidiary company, UniCem.

    The new bond issue is part of a co-ordinated plan to optimise the synergies from the recent integration of the South African and Nigerian operations of the group, including the appointment of a new managing director.

    Lafarge Africa on Thursday announced the appointment of Michel Puchercos, a French national, as the its group managing director and chief executive officer. Puchercos, who has worked across the global operations of Lafarge Africa, is expected to drive the performance of the cement group.

    Lafarge Africa suffered a loss before tax of N2.22 billion in first quarter 2016 as turnover dropped by 29.3 per cent. Key extracts of the unaudited report and accounts of Lafarge Africa for the three-month period ended March 31, 2016 showed that turnover dropped from N74.12 billion in first quarter of 2015 to N52.42 billion in first quarter of 2016. Gross profit dropped from N24.95 billion in 2015 to N7.81 billion. As against pre-tax profit of N6.09 billion in first quarter 2015, the company recorded a pre-tax loss of N2.22 billion. After taxes, net loss stood at N1.87 billion as against net profit of N5.83 billion in comparable period of 2015.

    Puchercos, a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and the National School of Rural Engineering, Waterways & Forests, France, joined Lafarge as Head, Strategy and Purchasing in Orsan, Lafarge Biochemistry, and in 1998 became Director of Cement Strategy and Information Systems, Lafarge Gypsum. In 2003, Michel became the Director of Cement strategy, Lafarge Group in France.

    In 2005, he moved into cement operations as the CEO for Lafarge operations in Kenya and Uganda while doubling as the Chairman of Tanzania operations. While in this role, he was the Head of African Health as well as Supply Chain Management Committees for East and Southeast Africa.

    After four years in Sub-Saharan Africa, Michel moved to Asia as the President and CEO of Lafarge South Korea, where he remained for seven years. While in this role, he was also a Special Advisor to the Chairman as well as a Board Member at Aso Cement in Japan.

    On the outlook for the cement group, Puchercos said Lafarge Africa was poised to deliver better performance as its plant operations were stabilising, with gas utilisation accounting for more than four-fifth of operations.

    “Overall, our plants are expected to deliver stronger operational results in future quarters of 2016,” Pucheros said.

    According to him, in spite of the macroeconomic challenges, the company will continue to deliver good performance with significant upsides to come as it concludes on the integration journey to form Lafarge Africa Plc.

    “The company’s new organisation  is much stronger and better positioned to deliver operational excellence and improve value to our shareholders,” Puchercos said.

    Lafarge Africa said it expects 2016 to be vibrant, driven mostly by the individual home segment while it remains confident about the future.