Chinwendu Obienyi
Nigeria’s second-largest cement company, BUA Cement, has announced it recorded N175.52 billion in revenue for the year 2019, representing a 47.5 per cent increase.
According to its Full-Year (FY) results for the 2019 Financial Year which was obtained from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)’s website, the cement company’s profit also increased by 69.1 per cent from N39.17 billion in 2018 to N66.24 billion in 2019.
However, the company reported a decline in Profit After Tax (PAT) which dropped from N64.07 billion in 2018 to N60.61 billion due to income tax credit of N26.76 billion in 2018 from the reversal of previous tax provision made on Obu Line 1 and deferred tax credit on securing approval for tax exemptions under pioneer status incentive in 2019.
Furthermore, the group’s Earnings Per Share (EPS) declined by 5.3 per cent year-on-year to N1.79 per share, mostly on input cost pressure as well as a tax charges incurred in 2019 compared to the deferred tax credit in the prior year.
Speaking on the results, , Managing Director, BUA Cement, Yusuf Binji, said the company recorded strong revenue growth through the adoption of a focused and disciplined approach even as it derived revenue and cost synergies from the merger across pricing, scale, and operational efficiencies; all of which supported by a sustainable business model and a value-oriented strategy, translating to growing market acceptance which is reflective in its margins.
“Despite the complexities and uncertainties that trailed the economic environment in 2019, we delivered on important strategic priorities, such as the commissioning of our 3mmtpa Line-2 at our Obu Plant in March 2019; completion of merger between CCNN Plc and Obu Cement Company Limited and commenced the listing process of BUA Cement Plc, the resultant entity on the floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), with the eventual delisting of CCNN Plc.
Going forward, our focus is to further harness the full benefits of the merger while making further in-roads to “new markets” both locally and outside Nigeria. We understand that the local and indeed the global economy would experience more uncertainties, yet we expect continued strong showing across the business, spurred-on by recovery across the global economy”, Binji said.