BUA Cement profit increases by 16.34%

By Kayode Tokede

BUA Cement Plc has witnessed an increase in its earnings for the full-year ended December 2020.

This is according to the unaudited group accounts forwarded by the firm to the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The cement firm recorded a 19.34 per cent revenue increase of N209.47billion for the 2020 financial period from N175.51billion in the corresponding period of 2019.

It also recorded N82.50bn as operating profit in 2020 as against N71.42billion recorded in 2019, representing an increase of 15.50 per cent.

The firm’s profit before tax rose to N79.06 billion in 2020, from N66.23 billion at the end of the 2019 financial year.

Its profit after tax rose by 16.34 per cent to N70.51 billion from N60.61 billion recorded in 2019.

Last month, the company announced a successful conclusion of its N115billion Series 1 Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Bond Issue under its maiden N200billion Bond Issuance Programme.

The bond was described as the largest ever corporate bond issued in the Nigerian Debt and Capital Markets. It said the development signalled growing investor confidence in the cement company.

Last year, BUA Cement signed an agreement with Sinoma CBMI of China for the construction of three new cement plants of three million tonnes each per annum, a project valued at $1.05billion.

The plants would be located in Edo, Sokoto and Adamawa states and were billed for completion by the end of 2022.

Upon completion, BUA said its cement’s capacity would increase to 20 million metric tonnes by 2022.