BUA Cement Plc, Nigeria’s second-largest cement producer, has reported a surge in its bottom line, with its after-tax profit increasing more than five times for the nine months ended September 30, 2025.
The company posted a profit after tax of N289.86 billion for the nine months in 2025, a 492 per cent increase from the N48.97 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.
The ultimate driver of the profit explosion was the net exchange gain/(loss) line item. The company recorded a gain of N21.63 billion in 2025, representing a monumental positive swing from the crippling N57.44 billion loss recorded in 2024.
The company’s rise in revenue was also a major contributor to its success story for the nine months, increasing by 47.2 per cent, rising from N583.41 billion in 2024 to N858.73 billion in 2025. This increase was primarily driven by strong cement demand, coupled with price adjustments to mitigate domestic inflation.
Notably, the 6.6 per cent growth in cost of sales was significantly slower than the revenue growth, resulting in a substantial gross profit of N429.26 billion, a 137.4 per cent increase. This operational leverage expanded the operating profit to N365.62 billion, up 165.3 per cent.
Offsetting these gains, net finance costs ballooned by 165.6 per cent to N46.15 billion. This was due to a rise in gross finance costs to N56.09 billion, from N32.03 billion, reflecting the impact of higher interest rates on the company’s borrowing portfolio.
The cement manufacturer disclosed in its results that the operating profit before working capital changes had risen significantly to N398.62 billion, compared to N169.82 billion in 9M’2024. This confirms the underlying strength of the core business.
However, the net cash inflow from operations was heavily restricted by major outflows in working capital. The company saw a massive decrease in trade and other payables and an equally large decrease in contract liabilities (N56.51 billion and N76.49 billion, respectively).
This movement signifies that the company utilised a large portion of its operating cash flow to settle outstanding obligations to suppliers and to deliver goods against prior customer prepayments, which restricted the net cash generated from operations.
Nevertheless, the firm’s ability to still increase its overall cash balance to N154 billion from N84 billion is a testament to the magnitude of the core operating profitability and the FX-driven profit, which contributed to the high starting point of the cash flow calculation.
BUA Cement’s total assets stood at N1.63 trillion, with its liabilities rising to N1.02 trillion, thereby bringing the company’s equity position to N608 billion, a 66 per cent increase from the N366 billion reported in the same period of last year.
During the period, the firm’s market capitalisation stood at N6.9 trillion, with its share price rising by 93 per cent year-to-date.