Lafarge Africa PLC returns to profit in 2019

Lafarge Africa PLC has reported revenues of NGN213bn (US$551.5m) for the year ended 31 December 2019 as against NGN218bn in 2018. Operating expenses fell from NGN29.89m to NGN23.42m. Financing costs also declined from NGN41.6bn to NGN20.2bn. The company ended 2019 with a profit after tax of NGN15.5bn compared with a loss of NGN8.1m in 2018.

Lafarge Africa also reduced its debt from NGN208bn in 2018 to NGN52.6bn in 2019, while total equity jumped from NGN135bn to NGN345bn in 2019.

Speaking on the results, Khaled El Dokani, managing director and CEO of Lafarge Africa Plc, said: "Our turnaround and cost-reduction strategy in 2019 and the divestment of the South African business, have delivered strong results. The decrease in net debt has significantly strengthened our balance sheet and has placed us in a vantage position to face the future.

"The Nigerian cement industry growth momentum is expected to slow down in FY20 compared to 2019 on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenging global macro-economic environment."