Shareholders of Lafarge Africa has approved the move by the management of the company to boost the company’s capital through a new N90 billion rights issue. The new plan also include the restructuring of its outstanding short term $315 million shareholders loans.
Speaking at the Extra Ordinary Meeting held in Lagos, Mobolaji Balogun, Chairman of the board of directors said the additional capital to be raised will further help to deleverage the company’s balance sheet and provide head room for the expansion of its business.
The cement manufacturer says it foresees a stable pricing environment and favourable economic conditions in its market while its South Africa operations are undergoing a turnaround.
The company reported a revenue of ₦162.29 billion for the period ended June 2018, compared to ₦154.84 billion reported for the period ended June 2017. This represents a 5% increase for the comparative period in 2017. Strong market growth in Nigeria within the period reflected the end of the recession in the cement market.
Loss before tax was ₦6.35 billion for the period ended June 2018, as against profit before tax of ₦18.16 billion reported for the period ended June 2017.
The company’s loss after tax for the half year ended 30th June 2018 was ₦3.9 billion, as against profit after tax of ₦19.7 billion recorded in H1 2017.
Lafarge Africa Plc is a unit of LafargeHolcim Group, one of the biggest building and concrete solutions company in the world. The company stock traded at N22.50 during trading session at the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as at yesterday 25th September 2018, year to date the stock is down 50.84%.
