Cement makers post 21% revenue jump as building costs bite

Nigeria's three largest cement producers earned a combined N5.79 trillion in the nine months to September 2026, up 20.8% from N4.79 trillion in the same period of 2025, according to an analysis of their results. The increase was driven by sustained price hikes, with retail cement now selling above N12,500 per bag in Lagos and other major cities, even as production costs grew slower than sales.

Dangote Cement earned N3.774 trillion, up 19.6%, with profit after tax of N974.8 billion, up 31.2%. Its Nigerian business generated N2.67 trillion compared with N2.18 trillion a year earlier, while Pan-African operations contributed N1.19 trillion. BUA Cement grew revenue 26.5% to N1.087 trillion with profit up 60% to N463.1 billion, while HBM Nigeria grew revenue 19% to N928 billion with profit up 31% to N272 billion. The trio made N1.7 trillion profit after tax in the period, up 38% year-on-year.

A 50kg bag of cement that sold for approximately N3,300 to N3,500 in 2021 now sells for between N13,000 and N15,000 in several Nigerian markets, an increase of more than 300% in five years that has added pressure on individuals, contractors and property developers. The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, in preliminary findings published in August 2026, identified possible price manipulation in the cement market, noting installed capacity of between 60 million and 65 million metric tonnes a year against estimated domestic consumption of 25 million to 30 million metric tonnes.

Ambrose Omordion, chief operating officer of InvestData Consulting, said producers enjoy pricing power in a market where demand for building materials remains inelastic because of the housing deficit. He said the companies face high energy, capacity expansion, power and funding costs but can pass them on, and that 14.5 million tonnes of new capacity coming in 2027 should improve supply. “For now, high cement price remains a key driver of high housing cost, because it is a core component of building and infrastructure,” he said.

Muda Yusuf, chief executive of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, cautioned that the N5.79 trillion revenue does not tell the full story of profitability and that analysis must focus on cost structure and margin trends. He also pushed back on linking the housing deficit solely to cement prices, pointing to the cost of land in Lagos, electricals, iron rods, roofing sheets and plumbing, and describing the sector as competitive rather than a monopoly.