Lafarge’s Q1 profit leaps by 157% on the back of finance costs cut

Lafarge Africa Plc has reported a 156.5% expansion in after-tax profit for First Quarter 2020 relative to the same period of 2019.

“I am proud of the plan Lafarge Africa has implemented to protect the health of our people while supporting our partners and communities. The first-quarter results confirm that our turnaround initiatives are effective and our strong balance sheet is mitigating the risks borne by the pandemic that has started hitting our country in March,” said Khaled El Dokani, the Chief Executive in the company’s Performance Overview.

The Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements of the cement manufacturer, posted on the website of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Friday, reveals that Revenue climbed by 9.8% quarter on quarter, up from N58.016 billion to N63.696 billion.

Q1’s Profit Before Tax outperformed the preceding quarter’s by 104.5%, advancing from N4.588 billion to N9.382 billion.

Profit After Tax expanded to N3.145 billion from N8.067 billion, growing by roughly 157%.

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Lafarge Africa, which debuted on the Nigerian manufacturing scene in 1961 as West African Portland Cement Company, sold off its loss-making South African operations sometimes in 2019.

The proceeds of the divestment was used to clear a substantial part of its credit obligation, as reflected in its Finance Costs, which tumbled from N8.312 billion to N2.572 billion.

Basic Earnings Per Share (EPS) rose from N0.20 to N0.50, equivalent to a 150% growth.

Lafarge Africa’s outstanding shares are about 16.108 billion with a dividend yield of 9.35%.

The company’s EPS is currently N0.84 with a Price to Earnings ratio of 12.80.

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