Dangote Cement nine-month pretax profit up 1.5%

Dangote Cement said on Monday its pretax profit for the nine months to September rose 1.5 per cent to NGN154.05bn (US$930.7m), compared with NGN151.72bn in the same period of last year.

Revenue for the nine month period was NGN310.21bn versus NGN288.98bn in 9M13, the company said in a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Price cuts
The company has recently slashed prices in the country, reportedly to its lowest level since 2005. The company's  32.5 cement grade now selling at NGN1000/50kg bag, while its higher 42.5 grade is selling for NGN1150/bag.

“We recognise the need for a dramatic increase in the response to the huge infrastructure and housing deficit in the country, and one of the ways of addressing the issue is bringing the price of building materials down to much more affordable levels, especially cement which is within our own control, as part of our own contribution to the transformation agenda of the Goodluck Jonathan administration and the attainment of key milestones in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” Devakumar Edwin,  group managing director of Dangote Cement, said.