By CHARITY MOONGA –

DANGOTE Cement Plc recorded a profit after tax of US$614 million in the six-month period ended June 30, 2015.
This is a 21.65-per cent increase over the one announced for the same period of 2014.
According to the half-year results released on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the cement company achieved a 20.23 per cent growth in profit before tax.
Furthermore the company’s revenue grew by 15.94 per cent as compared to the first half of 2014.
Dangote Cement grew its revenue in the first quarter of 2015 on the back of its expansion programme, which saw it commence operations in Zambia and other African countries.
Net profit for the quarter also rose by 44.1 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2014.
Speaking on the results, Dangote Cement chief executive officer, Onne van der Weijde attributed the increase in profits to the organisation’s new plants across Africa.
“Our new plants have made excellent starts across Africa in the first half of 2015 and our operations now stretch from Senegal across to Ethiopia and down to South Africa, making us a truly Pan-African leader in cement.
“Our strategy has been to enter markets with higher-quality cement produced at lower-cost factories and as a result we are building strong shares in key African markets, despite well-established competition,” he said.
He said the increasing diversity of the Dangote cement business was demonstrated by the fact that 22 per cent of volumes were sold outside of Nigeria and that helped to offset some of the uncertainties in its home market.
“We will build on these early successes in Africa as we continue to expand our business across the continent,” he said.
Dangote Cement is Africa’s leading cement producer with three plants in Nigeria, an import terminal and Ghana and recently opened factories in Ethiopia, Zambia, South Africa, Senegal and Cameroon.