Displaying items by tag: Ashaka Cement

Nigeria: Ashaka Cement, a subsidiary of Lafarge Africa, is set to inaugurate a 16MW power plant project in a bid to improve the reliablilty of its energy supply. Managing Director Rabiu Abdullah Umar said that the company would invest US$30.5m in the project. “We are helping to remove ourselves from the (national) demand for energy and providing our own solution,” he said. “This means a minimum of 16MW of electricity will now become available to the public grid for the people in the region to enjoy.”

Nigeria: Ashaka Cement has spent over US$4m on community projects in Gombe state since 2010. The funding has been invested in social initiatives near its Ashaka cement plant and Maiganga coal mine, according to the Daily Independent newspaper. Its projects include training young people in vocational trades and engineering. It also distributed 5000 safety vests to schoolchildren at a community day.

Nigeria: Ashaka Cement plans to complete its 16MW captive power plant in early 2019. The subsidiary of Lafarge Africa and LafargeHolcim started the US$30.5m project in 2017, according to the Nigerian Guardian newspaper. Once operational the power plant will supply additional electricity to the national grid as well as supplying the neighbouring cement plant.

Nigeria: Mallam Suleiman Yahyah has resigned as chairman from AshakaCem. Yahyah joined the board of directors of the subsidiary of LafargeHolcim in 2010 and became its chairman in 2015.

Nigeria: Ashaka Cement’s profit fell by 27% year-on-year to US$6.6m in 2016 from US$9m in 2015. Its revenue fell slightly to US$57m. Its cement deliveries rose by 6.5% to 0.61Mt from 0.57Mt. Lafarge Africa, a part owner of the cement producer, reported that its sales and operating earnings fell in 2016 due to gas shortages, a recession and local currency devaluation.

Nigeria: Lafarge Africa has signed a US$35m contract with Chinese company Rughn Power to build a 16MW captive power plant at its Ashaka cement plant in Gombe State. The lignite burning plant should provide a reliable energy source for the plant to increase its cement production capacity to 1Mt/yr.

Africa: Lafarge Africa Plc has reported a profit after tax of US$146m for the first nine months of 2015, compared with US$156m recorded in the corresponding of 2014.

The company said that Ashaka Cement's results were affected by unrest during the start of 2015 and that Ashaka Cement has since returned to normal operations. It added that industrial performance was strong, with stable plant operations across the board. The South African business continues to be cash generative. However, a volume slow down impacted the profit, with after tax profit from consolidated operations declining by 67% to US$17.6m in the third quarter of 2015. Lafarge Africa said that United Cement, which was included on an equity basis, brought the post tax profit to US$16.6m.

Lafarge Africa concluded the second tranche of the acquisition of Four Mills of Nigeria's 15% stake in Unicem. This brings Lafarge Africa's ownership stake in Unicem to 50%, while LafargeHolcim owns the remaining 50%. The acquisition has brought about an expansion in the Lafarge Africa scope in Nigeria.

"In spite of the challenging business environment and competitive situation, our company has delivered a good performance during the year. Our business expansion is remarkable and we are optimistic that our company will continue to deliver strong value to our shareholders," said the CEO of Lafarge Africa, Peter Hoddinott. According to him, Lafarge Africa will continue to leverage its strong brands, technological advantage and support from the global group. The expansion plans are on track, with Unicem's second line set to come on stream in 2016.

Nigeria: Lafarge's Ashaka Cement has reported a 5% year-on-year fall in half year pre-tax profit to US$21m in the first half of 2015, according to Reuters. Its revenue also dropped to US$54m from US$61.8m in the same period of 2014. The company's gross income fell to US$21.8m from US$25.9m in 2014.

Nigeria: The Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE) has concluded arrangements with LafargeHolcim, the owner of Ashaka Cement in Gombe State, that will see an investment of US$100m to create jobs and alleviate poverty caused by the activities of Boko Haram in the region.

The funding was announced by the Secretary of PINE, Mallam Umar Gulani, who was in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, with his team to distribute relief materials to victims of insurgency in the state.

Nigeria: According to All Africa, Ashaka Cement has filed a suit against the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) before the Tax Appeal Tribunal, North West Zone over a US$6.94m tax dispute.

In its statement of claim, Ashaka Cement faulted the tax assessment made by the FIRS and urged the tribunal to review the decision. It alleged that, in December 2014, the FIRS commenced a tax audit exercise on Ashaka Cement with respect to the year 2013.

"Subsequent to the exercise, the respondent issued an invitation / demand notice dated 2 December 2014 on the appellant (Ashaka Cement), assessing unpaid tax liabilities, which the appellant representatives attended on 15 December 2014. The invitation / demand notice contained the breakdown of the assessment made by the Respondent (FIRS). The Appellant received the said letter on the 4 December 2014. The Appellant responded to the said notice by an objection letter dated 22 December 2014 and served on the Respondent on 29 December 2014," said Ashaka Cement.

According to Ashaka Cement, the service of the objection letter was preceded by a reconciliation meeting held between its representatives and the FIRS' representatives on 15 December 2014. It said that vital issues contained in the FIRS' notice were discussed and 'ironed out.' Ashaka Cement argued that the grounds of objection raised in its notice was a reflection of issues raised, canvassed and agreed upon at the reconciliation meeting. It noted that it had assessed its tax liability on technical fees based on estimate only and all supporting documents were attached in form of Appendixes 1-12.