By JUDITH
NAMUTOWE –
DANGOTE Cement,  Africa’s largest cement producer, has announced its unaudited results for the six months ending June 30,  this year, with a posting of 12.6 per cent increase in sales volume across Africa.
According to the financials released on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the increase in sales volume showed a growing capture of Pan-African market as Dangote Cement continues to gain grounds.
Revenues from operations in Nigeria increased by 34.5 percent  to ₦291.4 billion while Pan-Africa revenue increased by 63.7 per cent to ₦124.4 billion  from ₦76  billion.
This was mainly as a result of increased volumes and foreign exchange gains when converting the sales from the country local currency.
The  analysis of the half year result revealed that sales volumes of African operations increased by 12.6 per cent to 4.7 million tonnes with Sierra Leone making a   53 kt maiden contribution.
Record  sales from its operations scattered around the African continent revealed that a total of 1.1million tonnes of cement was sold in Ethiopia,  0.7 million metric tonnes sold in Senegal, 0.6 million metric tons sold in Cameroon and 0.5 million tonnes in Ghana.
0.4 million tonnes of cement was sold in Tanzania and 0.3 million tonnes in Zambia.
Sales volumes from Nigerian operations fell from 8.8 tonnes to 6.9 tonnes, occasioned by the onset of rains which stalled many construction projects.
Reflecting on the half year results, Dangote Cement’s chief executive officer, Onne van der Weijde expressed satisfaction that the company’s revenues have continued to grow despite low sales from the Nigerian operations noting that the revenues grew on the strength of sales from other African operations
“Our revenues have continued to grow despite the lower volumes seen in Nigeria, especially because of the recent heavy rains. Our margins have improved significantly, helped by improved efficiencies and a much better fuel mix in Nigeria.
He said Dangote was  using much more gas and increasing its  use of coal mined in Nigeria, thus reducing its need for foreign currency and supporting Nigerian jobs.