Lafarge Africa announces Q1 2017 Results
- Net sales up 55 in Q1 2017 to N81,3Billion vs. Q1 2016
- Q1 2017 EBITDA up 2.5x to N17,7 Billion
- Plants operating at optimal level
- Achieved record performance in Alternative Fuel at the Ewekoro plant, up to 46
- Profit after tax of N 5,2Billion
- Solid operating cash flows of N7,7Billion recorded in the quarter
2017 Q1
| (in Billion Naira) | Jan- Mar 2017 | Jan-Mar 2016 | Variation( ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net Sales | 81.3 | 52.4 | 55 |
| Operating EBITDA | 17.7 | 5.1 | 250 |
| Profit After Tax | 5.2 | (1.9) |
Michel Puchercos, CEO of Lafarge Africa said: “Our turnaround plan continued to deliver strong results in Q1 2017, in spite of the challenging environment in Nigeria & South Africa. In Nigeria, domestic cement volume improved by +6 compared to last quarter, thanks to seasonality, however the market declined compared to last year due to the recession that started in Q2 2016.
Our commercial transformation contributed to improved performance and sustained market share, the logistics & industrial improvement plan delivered the expected benefits and our energy optimisation strategy (AF & coal substitution) achieved record performance, mitigating gas shortages at low cost. EBITDA margin reached 30 during the quarter in Nigeria.
In South Africa, the activities were affected by lower volumes in the cement division, despite the price increase from last year. The company continues to focus on cost optimisation, to restore profitability.
Overall, we are on track to deliver our ambition for 2017 and maintain our outlook for the cement demand growth of 0 to 2 for Nigeria”.
Investment/Divestment
During the quarter, we made progress with our investment for the Ashaka CPP, initial work for our AF and coal development and completion of the Mfamosing line II. In total capital expenditure in the quarter reached N9.1 Billion.
Our main divestment relates to the disposal of the Elephant Cement House to Lagos State Government for N3.1Billion, generating a capital gain of N1.2 Billion.
Net Debt
Our Net debt remained stable at to N 107 Billion, thanks to the contribution of our operation.
2017 Outlook
In spite of the overall decline in cement market in the quarter, we expect a gradual recovery of the economy, during the second half of the year. We maintain our outlook on the cement market in Nigeria to grow between 0 to 2 .
Lafarge Africa is well positioned to benefit from expected upturn in the market. Our business turnaround plan will further be consolidated, through local sourcing, fuel flexibility, stable industrial operations, logistics & commercial optimisation initiatives.
On the other hand, the South African environment is expected to remain challenging and we retain our expectation of a flat to declining market. However, the commissioning of the new grinding line at the plant, our cost containment and commercial excellence programs should cushion the impact of the declining economic environment on our performance.
