BUA Cement 9M profit surges 64% to ₦556.7B on bulk sales boom, lower finance costs
BUA Cement posts nine-month pre-tax profit of ₦556.7 billion (up 64% year-on-year) on revenue of ₦1.09 trillion (up 27%), with profit after tax hitting ₦463.1 billion (up 60%). The standout: bulk cement revenue exploded 3,881% to ₦67.2 billion from just ₦1.7 billion, now making up 6.2% of total sales as the company adds industrial customers and deploys LNG-powered trucks.
Finance costs dropped 37% to ₦35.5 billion while finance income nearly tripled to ₦26.6 billion, narrowing net finance costs to ₦9 billion. A ₦29.2 billion foreign exchange gain provided additional lift. Gross margin improved to 57% from 50%, EBITDA margin to 52.7%.
CEO Yusuf Binji credits logistics restructuring and bulk customer growth for resilience despite heavy rainfall disruptions and elevated energy costs (up 22% to ₦216.6 billion). Energy costs have since normalized, he says. The company generated ₦304.5 billion operating cash flow, paid ₦338.6 billion in dividends, and spent ₦127.5 billion on capex.
Balance sheet shows total assets at ₦2.06 trillion (up 11%), but external debt rose 25% to ₦656.9 billion. Cash reserves dipped 5% to ₦266.4 billion. BUA plans a greenfield plant in Ososo, Edo State to expand capacity from 17M to 23M metric tonnes annually.
Shares closed at ₦293.40 on October 29, up 64% year-to-date but down 7% over three months. With earnings surging, capacity expanding, and dividends flowing, the question for investors: has the 64% YTD run already priced in the Edo expansion, or is there more upside from bulk margin improvement and debt reduction?