Sourcing for importation of cement not idea—BUA Group
The chairman of BUA Group second largest cement Company in Nigeria Abdul Samad Rabui stated that his company is making efforts to lessen the price of cement.
He further accentuate that the presuppose price decrease is a bid to support the Federal government economic plans.
Mean while, the minister of works Dave Umahi had recently opined that he would dialogue with cement manufacturers to look into the reduction of prices of their products.
Adding that, the contractors had complained about the high cost of cement and suggested that it’s cheaper if being imported.
Rabui while speaking at the company’s 7th Annual General Meeting (AGM) Thursday August 31, 2023 said BUA group have the intention for price reduction by improving on the production capacity of its cement-producing pants.
Rabui said:
“By the end of the year, we intend to have two more production lines on stream which will boost our production capacity by at least 40 per cent to 70 million tons.
The idea of increasing production capacity is to see how we can be able to drop prices on our part to support the government’s efforts because importation will not be the best solution.
The average price of cement in Nigeria is N4,500 which translates into N90,000 per ton or $100. So if the government threatens to start importing cement, it will even cost them more because the forex is now high and when you bring it through the ports, you must pay taxes, trucking and other levies which will add to the price.
He further noted that, the company (BUA) outperformed its competitors in terms of cement volume growth in the 2022 fiscal year.
He said the company’s revenue increased by 40.3 percent to N361.9 billion in 2022, from N257.3 billion in 2021.
He added that the post-tax profit appreciated by 12.1 percent to N101.1 billion from N90.1 billion in 2021.
The shareholders of the company approved the payment of N2.80 as dividend for the year, higher than the N2.60 paid in the preceding year.