Dangote Cement Q2 profit jumps 230% to ₦418bn

…Finance costs halved, margins surge

Dangote Cement Plc has posted a pre-tax profit of ₦418.06 billion for the second quarter ended 30 June 2025, representing a 230.35 per cent year-on-year increase from ₦126.55 billion in Q2 2024.

The result propelled its half-year pre-tax profit to ₦730 billion, up 149 per cent year-on-year and almost matching its entire full-year 2024 pre-tax earnings at 99.7 per cent.

Profit after tax rose sharply to ₦311.21 billion in Q2, marking a 303 per cent increase from ₦77.23 billion in the prior-year quarter. Half-year post-tax profit climbed to ₦520.46 billion, already 3 per cent higher than the company’s total 2024 figure.

The earnings surge was driven by a combination of revenue growth, improved profit margins, and a steep reduction in finance costs. 

Quarterly revenue advanced 14.24 per cent to ₦1.1 trillion, while the cost of sales increased by only 3 per cent to ₦446.29 billion, lifting the gross margin to 59 per cent.

Finance costs were halved year-on-year to ₦104.3 billion, supported by the absence of foreign exchange losses that had weighed on the business with ₦138 billion in Q2 2024.

Although revenue expanded, production and sales volumes contracted. Production fell 4.27 per cent year-on-year to 6.434 million tonnes in Q2, while first-half output stood at 12.981 million tonnes, a 6 per cent decline from H1 2024. 

Sales volumes also eased, down 1.39 per cent in Q2 to 6.796 million tonnes, bringing half-year sales to 13.365 million tonnes, a 4 per cent year-on-year fall. This indicates that higher average selling prices were the primary driver of top-line growth.

Operating profit margins strengthened to 38.4 per cent in Q2 2025, up from 31.43 per cent in the same quarter last year, helped by slower growth in production costs despite energy expenses of ₦209.99 billion.

Total assets rose 3.35 per cent to ₦6.617 trillion as of June 2025, an increase of ₦214 billion in six months. Shareholders’ funds grew 2.09 per cent to ₦2.220 trillion, with profits outpacing balance sheet expansion, pointing to more efficient use of capital.

As of 25 July 2025, Dangote Cement shares closed at ₦490 on the Nigerian Exchange, representing a year-to-date gain of 2.97 per cent, following a 49.67 per cent return in 2024.