Nigeria’s cement firms rake in N3.2 trillion in six months amid price hikes, construction boom

Nigeria’s top cement makers generated a combined N3.2 trillion in revenue during the first half of 2026 as price hikes, rising housing developments, construction activity and infrastructure projects fuelled demand and pushed earnings to record levels.

According to the unaudited financial statements filed by Dangote Cement, BUA Cement and HBM Nigeria, the industry’s strong performance was driven by a combination of higher sales volumes and price increases despite persistent macroeconomic challenges.

The results underscore the resilience of Nigeria’s cement sector, with all three listed manufacturers recording double-digit revenue growth, expanding profitability and committing fresh investments to increase production capacity amid sustained demand from Nigeria’s construction industry.

What the data is saying:

Financial statements filed by Nigeria’s three major listed cement manufacturers show that combined Nigeria-only revenue rose 26.5% to N3.2 trillion in the first half of 2026 from N2.5 trillion recorded during the same period of 2025.

All three companies recorded double-digit revenue growth as they leveraged stronger distribution networks to penetrate new markets.

• Dangote Cement reported Nigeria revenue of N1.8 trillion, representing a 25.2% increase from a year earlier. Including operations across 21 African countries, total group revenue reached N2.5 trillion, with Nigeria contributing more than 70% of total earnings.
• BUA Cement posted revenue of N728.9 billion, up 25.6% year-on-year. Bulk cement sales surged from N236 million in the first half of 2025 to N40.2 billion in the first half of 2026, reflecting stronger participation in infrastructure and industrial projects.
• HBM Nigeria, formerly Lafarge Africa following its May 2026 name change, recorded the fastest revenue growth among the three companies, with revenue rising 31.2% to N678.4 billion as the company strengthened operations under its new majority owner, Huaxin Cement.

The performance reflects sustained demand across residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, with producers benefiting from both stronger volumes and improved pricing.

What they are saying:

Management across the three companies attributed their record performances to strong demand, operational efficiency and disciplined execution while expressing confidence that infrastructure spending and urbanisation will continue to support cement demand.

• Dangote Cement CEO Arvind Pathak said the company’s first-half performance reflected the “strong momentum built since the start of the year,” driven by disciplined execution, higher sales volumes, and sustained demand across its key markets. He added that the group’s strong cash position would support future investments while maintaining disciplined capital allocation.
• BUA Cement Managing Director/CEO Yusuf Haliru Binji echoed a similar sentiment, saying the company had “delivered a strong quarter despite the constraints encountered.” He added that ongoing process optimisation is expected to improve productivity and support stronger performance in the coming quarters.
• At HBM Nigeria, Group Managing Director Lolu Alade-Akinyemi said the company’s strong performance was driven by double-digit volume growth, improved plant reliability, better distribution efficiency, and disciplined cost management.

He noted that demand remains supported by infrastructure projects, urbanisation, and construction activity, while the company has already commenced engineering work on a new three-million-tonne integrated cement plant in Calabar to support future growth.

More Insights:

Retail cement prices in Nigeria rose steeply through the first half of 2026. A 50kg bag that sold for between N9,300 and N9,700 in January had risen to between N10,500 and N13,000 by mid-year, with dealers in several states quoting prices as high as N13,000 to N15,000 per bag by July.

• The increases were driven by higher energy costs, foreign exchange pressures on imported inputs and rising logistics expenses, with Dangote Cement Chairman Emmanuel Ikazoboh explaining that elevated energy and foreign exchange costs were being passed through to consumers through pricing.
• All three companies reported revenue growth that outpaced volume growth, confirming that higher prices were a meaningful driver of first-half earnings.

Nigeria’s Ministry of Works publicly urged cement manufacturers to reduce prices, warning that rising construction costs were forcing contractors to seek variations on existing infrastructure contracts. As of the end of the first half, producers had not reduced prices.

While prices rose, the companies also experienced surge in operating expenses.

• Haulage and distribution remained the industry’s largest selling expense, accounting for N421.5 billion of the combined N527.9 billion spent on selling and distribution by the three companies, highlighting the logistics-intensive nature of cement operations.
• Advertising expenditure remained relatively insignificant, with BUA Cement spending N25.6 million, Dangote Cement N6.8 billion and HBM Nigeria N1.8 billion, underscoring that competition in the sector is driven more by pricing, availability and distribution than by marketing.

The three companies also accelerated capital investments to expand production capacity. HBM Nigeria’s capital expenditure jumped nearly fivefold from N28.9 billion to N141.5 billion, largely reflecting expansion projects including the Ashaka debottlenecking programme.

Dangote Cement reported N354.2 billion in gross capital additions, although only N130.7 billion represented cash payments, with N229.5 billion financed through supplier credit, highlighting the company’s ability to leverage its scale to secure non-bank financing for expansion.

What you should know:

Nigeria’s cement industry has consistently reported rising revenues on the back of higher sales volumes and periodic price adjustments. H1 2026 is a continuation of first quarter (Q1) 2026 performance of the three biggest cement producers.

• Combined revenues for Dangote Cement, BUA Cement and HBM Nigeria rose from approximately N1.93 trillion in 2021 to N6.55 trillion in 2025, representing a 3.4-fold increase in naira terms.
• Despite naira revenues more than tripling, the industry’s dollar value declined from about $4.7 billion in 2021 to approximately $4.2 billion in 2025 as the depreciation of the naira eroded the real value of corporate earnings.
• Dangote Cement shares have declined 6% over the past week to N965 but remain up 68% over the past year, trading at a price-to-earnings multiple of approximately 14.4x.
• BUA Cement shares have also fallen 6% over the past week to N296 but remain up 74% over the past year, trading at roughly 21.4x earnings.
• HBM Nigeria shares have moderated from N389.90 as of July 28, closing at N267.40 on Wednesday, August 5 despite its improved earnings report.

The stock had surged by 149% over the past year following record dividend declarations. The stock currently trades at approximately 17x earnings.

The elevated valuations across all three cement producers suggest investors continue to price in sustained revenue and profit growth, reflecting expectations that Nigeria’s construction boom and infrastructure investments still have considerable room to run.