MORGANABLE BUSINESS / COMPANIES
BUA Cement Plc’s profit after tax rose to ₦463.1 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up about 59.8 per cent from ₦289.9 billion in the same period of 2025.
Akure —
BUA Cement Plc’s profit after tax rose to ₦463.1 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up about 59.8 per cent from ₦289.9 billion in the same period of 2025. The increase came as revenue grew faster than the company’s cost of sales.
The company disclosed the figures in unaudited financial statements filed with the Nigerian Exchange in its latest nine-month financial report.
Revenue rose 26.5 per cent to ₦1.09 trillion from ₦858.7 billion a year earlier, taking the company above the ₦1 trillion mark for the period in 2026.
Profit before tax increased by 64.4 per cent to ₦556.7 billion, compared with ₦338.6 billion in the corresponding period last year.
Earnings per share also climbed to 1,367.50 kobo from 855.93 kobo. These figures point to stronger earnings for shareholders, although the results cover only nine months and do not represent the company’s full-year performance.
COSTS AND MARGINS
A key factor behind the increase was the slower rise in the cost of sales. BUA Cement’s cost of sales grew by 8.8 per cent to ₦466.4 billion from ₦428.6 billion in the same period of 2025.
Revenue, by comparison, increased at a much faster pace. This gap helped the company improve its gross profit and protect its margins.
Gross profit rose by 44.2 per cent to ₦620.3 billion from ₦430.2 billion. The gross profit margin also improved to 57.1 per cent from 50.1 per cent a year earlier.
In addition, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, known as EBITDA, reached a margin of 52.7 per cent. The company said this margin improved by 6.3 percentage points.
However, production and distribution costs remained important pressures. The company linked the rise in cost of sales partly to an adverse energy mix, operational challenges and higher prices associated with geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Energy consumption accounted for a large share of its production costs. Therefore, changes in fuel and power prices remain important to the company’s operating performance.
BUA Cement also reported that selling and distribution costs rose to ₦61.3 billion from ₦47.5 billion. Administrative expenses increased to ₦23.2 billion from ₦18.3 billion.
Despite these increases, the company’s operating profit advanced by 46.7 per cent to ₦536.5 billion. This suggests that stronger revenue and improved production cost control outweighed the higher expenses during the period.
LOGISTICS AND PRODUCTION
The company said it recorded volume growth in each of the first three quarters of 2026 compared with the corresponding quarters of 2025. It attributed the progress to the addition of bulk customers, the acquisition of liquefied natural gas-powered trucks and changes to its logistics operations. These steps supported deliveries and helped the business serve more customers.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Yusuf Binji said the performance showed the company’s resilience despite difficult operating conditions.
He noted that heavy rainfall and poor road conditions affected operations during the period. Nevertheless, the company exceeded its quarterly performance in 2025 through the addition of bulk customers and improvements to its transport network.
Binji said the LNG-powered trucks would help reduce the company’s carbon footprint while making use of Nigeria’s natural gas resources.
He added that the investment should improve market reach and operating efficiency. The company also said energy costs had risen during the quarter because of supply constraints but had since returned to normal levels.
FINANCIAL POSITION AND INVESTMENT
The results also showed changes in the company’s finance costs. Finance costs fell to ₦35.5 billion from ₦56.1 billion in the first nine months of 2025.
Meanwhile, finance income increased to ₦26.6 billion from ₦9.9 billion. The lower finance burden supported profit growth, alongside higher operating earnings.
BUA Cement recorded a net foreign exchange gain of ₦29.2 billion, compared with ₦21.6 billion in the corresponding period last year.
Foreign exchange movements can affect companies that have foreign currency obligations or transactions.
For this reason, the gain contributed to the reported result, but it may not remain at the same level in future periods.
BUA Cement is also pursuing plans to expand production. In January 2026, it signed an agreement with China’s CBMI Construction for a sixth production line at its Sokoto plant.
The proposed line is expected to add three million tonnes of annual capacity. If completed as planned, it would support the company’s target of increasing its installed capacity to 20 million tonnes a year.
OUTLOOK
Looking ahead, BUA Cement said it would focus on profitable partnerships with distributors and further efforts to reduce the cost of serving customers in the fourth quarter.
The company will also need to manage energy supply, transport conditions and demand across its markets. These factors could influence sales volumes and margins in the final months of the year.
BUA Cement’s nine-month results show that the company improved revenue, profit and margins despite operating challenges.
The 60 per cent increase in profit after tax marks a strong performance against the same period in 2025.
Still, investors will watch whether the company can maintain its margins and manage costs as it enters the final quarter.
The full-year outcome will depend on sales volumes, energy costs, logistics efficiency and the wider business environment.
The latest figures provide evidence of stronger performance so far, but they do not guarantee that the same growth rate will continue.
BUA Cement’s ability to sustain operational improvements and deliver its expansion plans will remain central to its performance in the months ahead.
