BUA Cement’s post-tax profit saw a big dive in the first half of the year, diminishing by almost half of what it booked a year earlier.

The performance highlights how huge increases in the price of cement during the period are not translating to strong earnings for Nigerian cement-makers, amid record inflationary pressures.

Nigeria’s second-biggest cement manufacturer reported N34.3 billion in net profit, which declined from N63.6 billion, according to its newly issued earnings report, even though topline was up by nearly 65 per cent.

Fiercest competitor Dangote Cement, days earlier, posted a flattish growth in profit despite a record revenue that rode on the back of a cement price boom rather than an increase in sales volume.

Direct costs of production leapt 131.4 per cent to N138.5 billion, leaving gross profit marginally higher. Here, the main pressure point was energy cost, which soared 171.7 per cent, accounting for more than half of cost of sales.

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