Lafarge Africa Plc has released its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31st, 2025, reporting an after-tax profit of N48.6 billion, primarily driven by increased revenue and a significant reduction in its finance cost.
Findings by BusinessDay showed that for the three months ended March 31st, Lafarge Africa reported revenue of N248.35 billion, up 80 percent year‑on‑year, driven by robust cement demand and price adjustments. Cost of sales amounted to N125.37 billion, yielding a gross margin of 49.5 percent.
Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, CEO of Lafarge Africa, said, “We achieved solid financial results in Q1, with Net Sales growth of 80 percent, Operating profit up 137 percent, and Profit After Tax of N48.6 billion.
“Our strong performance resulted from innovative product offerings and strategic operational initiatives. This further demonstrates our solid market position, operational efficiency, cost management, and commitment to value creation,” he said.
During the period, the cement manufacturer reported a net foreign exchange gain of N1.07 billion from a loss of N21 billion, which caused the finance cost to decline by 93.8 percent.
The company revealed that its finance cost in Q1 amounted to N388 million from N23 billion reported in the same period of 2024, while its finance income rose to N1.8 billion.
Selling and distribution costs grew by 43 percent to N38 billion while its administrative expenses rose to N12 billion in the period under review.
After selling, distribution, and administrative expenses, operating profit stood at N71.66 billion, a 28.9 percent operating margin. Net profit of N48.64 billion translated to a 19.6 percent net margin, a significant improvement from the 3.8 percent net margin in 2024.
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Despite strong bottom‑line growth, asset‑heavy operations mean returns on invested capital remain moderate. The company’s return on assets (ROA) for the quarter was 5.3 percent, while return on equity (ROE) clocked in at 8.8 percent.
Lafarge Africa’s current ratio of 1.06× indicates that short‑term assets slightly exceed liabilities, a comfortable cushion albeit tighter than the 1.2× seen in Q1 2024. Total liabilities of N361.5 billion against equity of N553.3 billion produce a debt‑to‑equity ratio of 0.65×, well within conservative comfort levels for a capital‑intensive industry.
During the period, the company’s net cash flow generated from operating activities saw a negative figure of N118.3 billion, which implies that the company may not be generating enough money from its core business activities.
Lafarge’s cash flow used in investing activities recorded a year-on-year loss of N8.4 billion in March 2025 compared to N4.3 billion in March 2024..
Net cash flow used in financing activities recorded a loss of N2.9 billion from a N25.1 billion year-on-year loss.
According to the company’s corporate disclosure, the board has agreed to pay an interim dividend of N4 per unit of ordinary share, subject to deduction of withholding tax, which will be paid to shareholders whose names appear in the Register of Members as at the close of business on Friday, 9th May 2025.
It said, “On the 20th May 2025, dividends will be paid electronically to shareholders whose names appear in the Register of Members as at Friday, 9th May 2025, and who have completed the e-dividend registration and mandated the Registrar to pay their dividends directly into their Bank accounts.”
