Lafarge Wapco pretax profit rises over 20%, Nigeria

Lafarge Wapco's first-quarter pretax profit rose by 20.64 per cent YoY to NGN7.19bn (US$45.5m), compared to NGN5.96bn in the same period of last year.

Revenues rose to NGN23.32bn compared to NGN22.61bn in the comparative period of 2012, it said in a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Lafarge Wapco operates three adjacent plants in Ewekoro in Ogun State, southwest Nigeria, with a capacity of 4.5Mta folliwng a capacity increase programme in 2011 and 2012.

As well as its 60 per cent stake in Lafarge Wapco, the French multinational also owns a 59 per cent stake in local producer AshakaCem. For the first-quarter of 2013, Lafarge reported that Nigerian volumes improved by 5.2 per cent.