Dangote Cement Plc suffered a 10% decline in its market value on Friday, closing at approximately N7.3 trillion, according to trading data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX). The selloff was triggered by a transaction involving 1.448 million shares valued at N628.916 million, executed by bearish market players.
The single-day transaction wiped about N810 billion off Dangote Cement’s market capitalization, bringing it down to N7.289 trillion, now trailing behind BUA Foods, whose valuation exceeds N7.5 trillion.
At its current price, Dangote Cement is trading around 27% of its 52-week peak value on the Nigerian Exchange. Successive selloffs have cost the company its title as the most valuable firm on the exchange, driven by earnings pressures and escalating borrowing costs.
Despite this sharp decline, Dangote Cement recorded a robust financial performance in the first quarter of 2025 as macroeconomic challenges began to ease.
According to its unaudited financial report filed with the NGX, the cement giant’s profit soared by roughly 86% year-on-year to N209.2 billion in Q1 2025.
Analysts attribute the earnings boost to improved pricing in the Nigerian market, moderated cost increases, and reduced FX losses, which collectively offset declining sales volumes.
The company’s revenue rose 21.7% year-on-year to N994.7 billion, spurred by a 60.6% increase in average revenue per tonne in Nigeria to N158,335, despite a dip in volumes.
The volume drop in Nigeria was largely due to weakened consumer spending power. Meanwhile, election-related tensions in Senegal and South Africa, coupled with liquidity challenges in Ethiopia, affected Pan-African operations.
Cost of goods sold edged up marginally by 2.1% year-on-year to N407.261 billion in Q1 — a much slower pace than revenue growth.
With foreign exchange losses contained, Dangote Cement closed the quarter with a net income of N209.245 billion, an 85.7% increase from N112.674 billion posted in the same period in 2024.
