Dangote Cement Plc, Africa’s largest cement producer, has announced an update on trading activities and its plans to convert some of its power plants to coal powered plants.
According to the firm, sales growth remained strong in Nigeria with volumes up 15% in July and August.
However, to mitigate the impact of cost increases from disruption of gas supplies and the naira devaluation, the firm says it has increased the ex-factory price of cement by N600.
DangCem says it expects to begin mining its own coal by November, and most of its production lines are now capable of running entirely on coal.
It should be noted, however, that alternative fuels such as LPFO and coal costs about three times as much as Natural gas and this can hurt DangCem margins in coming quarters if the gas supply issues are not resolved.