Displaying items by tag: Senegal

This week Aliko Dangote retired as the chair of Dangote Cement. It’s a big deal, as Dangote founded parent company Dangote Industries in 1981 as an importer of bagged cement and other commodities such as rice, sugar, flour and salt. Over 40 years later Dangote Cement is the biggest cement company in Africa with a reported capacity of 52Mt/yr, operations in at least 10 countries and annual revenues of US$2.3bn. Dangote personally has also become Africa’s richest inhabitant along the way. It’s an extraordinary achievement.

As CEO Arvind Pathak, said in the company’s half-year report, “We celebrate our president, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who now steps down from the board, for his pivotal and transformative role in shaping the company’s growth, success, and lasting legacy. His visionary leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, and unwavering commitment laid the very foundation of our journey. Under his guidance, the company achieved remarkable milestones, expanded its footprint, and set new standards of excellence across the industry.” Dangote is aged 68 years and his successor as chair of Dangote Cement, Emmanuel Ikazoboh, is aged 76 years.

The key acquisitions started in 2000, when the company purchased a controlling stake in Benue Cement following its privatisation. Then, in 2002, it bought Obajana Cement and started up its first production line at the site by 2007. Obajana has since become the group’s largest plant in Nigeria with a production capacity of 16.3Mt/yr across four lines. The company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2010. Dangote Cement set up other plants in Nigeria and the Cement Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (CMAN) declared that the country was ‘self-sufficient’ in cement in 2012. Dangote the cement importer had become Dangote the cement producer. Then it became Dangote the cement exporter when it established its first overseas cement terminal in Ghana in 2011. Finally, it became Dangote the cement multinational when production plants outside of Nigeria started to be built in the early 2000s with units in Senegal and South Africa starting up in 2014. Today, in 2025, Dangote Cement has operations in Cameroon, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

Naturally, one doesn’t build a conglomerate as large and successful as Dangote Industries without dividing opinion along the way. Issues on the cement side of the business include criticism of how Dangote managed to beat his rivals to buy government-run cement companies in the early 2000s. To be fair to Dangote though, other companies including Blue Circle and HeidelbergCement did the same thing at this time. Arguments about this issue resurfaced publicly in 2022 when the Kogi State Government took Dangote Cement to court over its ownership of the Obajana plant in relation to tax revenue.

Another issue in Nigeria in recent years has been repeated arguments about the price of cement. Despite the country becoming ‘self-sufficient’ in cement, the cost has prompted scrutiny by legislators. Meanwhile, Dangote Cement has continued to make handsome profits year after year. Outside of Nigeria, Dangote’s expansion plans haven’t always gone smoothly. Its plans to open a plant in Kenya, for example, appear to have been stymied repeatedly. Infamously, Dangote himself allegedly described Kenya as being more corrupt than Nigeria to Kenyan media. A long heralded listing on the London Stock Exchange never happened and acquisitions outside of Africa are yet to occur. Looking forward, future challenges include newer entrants into the Sub-Saharan African cement such as those from China. A sign of challenges to come include the pending acquisition of Lafarge Africa by Huaxin Cement as China continues to attempt to export its cement production ambitions.

As Aliko Dangote steps down as chair from his cement business, the potential for both his company and the continent it is based in remains high. Demographic factors favour economic growth in Africa in the 21st Century due to its growing population and need for development. This will require plenty of cement and Dangote Cement is well positioned to supply it.

And finally… some people take up gardening in their retirement. Should Dangote become bored in his retirement from the cement business though he could consider the example of the former CEO of Ireland-based CRH. It was announced last week that Albert Manifold has been appointed as the chair of oil and gas company BP. Dangote Group already operates an oil refinery. Perhaps future opportunities beckon.

France: Vicat’s sales remained stable at €1.89bn on a like-for-like basis in the first half of 2025. This was attributed to negative currency exchange effects in Brazil, Egypt and Türkiye, and a slowdown in activity in the US. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 2% year-on-year to €331m from €353m in the same period in 2024. Cement and concrete sales volumes dropped by 2.5% to 13.7Mt and 3.9% to 4.4Mm³ respectively. Aggregates volumes rose by 5.8% to 11.3Mt. By region sales revenue and earnings fell in France yet rose in the rest of Europe and the Mediterranean. It fell elsewhere.

“The group continues to implement its market plan, with the start-up of Kiln 6 in Senegal, a major driver of the group’s organic growth, development in the construction chemicals business with the merger between VPI and Cermix, and the acquisition of Realmix, which strengthens the group’s vertical integration in Brazil,” said Guy Sidos, Vicat’s chair and CEO.

Nigeria: Domestic sales revenue and earnings have driven Dangote Cement’s financial performance in the first half of 2025. Its sales revenue grew by 17.7% year-on-year to US$1.35bn in the reporting period compared to US$1.15bn in 2024. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 41.8% to US$618m from US$435m. Sales and earnings grew sharply at home in Nigeria yet they fell elsewhere in Africa. Sales volumes of cement dropped by 4.1% to 13.4Mt from 13.9Mt, with a minor decrease locally and a sharper fall in other countries.

Arvind Pathak, CEO of Dangote Cement, said “While group volumes declined… [due] to softer demand in key markets, we remain encouraged by the growth in our export business. Export volumes from Nigeria increased by 18.2%, with 18 successful clinker shipments made to Ghana and Cameroon. This demonstrates the growing importance of our pan-African footprint and our ongoing commitment to regional trade and self-sufficiency.

By region, the group noted that its sales revenue in Nigeria rose sharply driven by price adjustments to keep up with inflation. Exports from national operations increased by 18.2% to 671,000t. 481,000t of this total was sent to Cameroon and Ghana. In the rest of Africa the company blamed lower sales volumes on post-election uncertainties in Senegal and South Africa, and liquidity constraints in Ethiopia due to delays in the approval of the national budget.

Finally, it was announced that company chair and founder Aliko Dangote has stepped down from the board of directors. It celebrated his, “pivotal and transformative role in shaping the company’s growth, success, and lasting legacy.”

Germany: Heidelberg Materials has appointed Gün Burak Günbey as Senior Project Manager at its Competence Center Cement global research and development hub.

Günbey has worked for the cement sector since the late 2000s. He has held engineering, project management and investment roles at OYAK Bolu Çimento, Limak Cement and Vicat. He became the Group Investment Manager for Vicat Group Türkiye in 2021 and subsequently worked as Project Expert for VICAT Senegal Sococim from 2023.

The Gambia: Minister for Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, Baboucar Ousmaila Joof, clarified in a parliamentary session that The Gambia has not increased taxes on cement imported from Senegal. The excise tax applies uniformly to all imported bagged cement to support local manufacturing. Despite challenges in penetrating the Senegalese market due to protectionist policies, The Gambia continues to promote regional trade through a trade liberalization scheme, enabling duty-free access across member states. The scheme has seen rising imports from Senegal, growing significantly from US$11.3m in 2018 to over US$44m in 2022. The minister emphasised the critical role of government support in sustaining the industry amidst challenges such as smuggling and high production costs.

The Minister said “Past studies of the manufacturing sector in the country found that more than 80% of the manufacturing units were operating less than 50% of their installed capacity due to high cost of energy, taxation and limited market space. To spur growth in the industry, the government has decided to support the industry by imposing an excise tax on the importation of bagged cement.”

The Gambia: The Gambian government has released over 300 truckloads of imported cement held at the Senegal border at Farafenni. The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment described the move as a one-time measure intended to alleviate the backlog caused by a rise in import duties, by a factor of six, to US$2.66/bag. The Cement Importers and Traders Association (CITA) welcomed the release of the cement, citing concerns over a possible shortage.

France: Vicat recorded consolidated sales of Euro3.94bn in 2023, up by 8% year-on-year from Euro3.64bn in 2022. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were Euro740m, up by 30% from Euro570m. The producer's energy costs declined by 10% to Euro596m. Vicat noted ‘strong’ growth in sales across all regions except Kazakhstan and India, and in earnings in the US. Its cement volumes rose by 6.3% overall, but contracted in Egypt, France, Senegal and Switzerland.

Algeria: Amouda Cement plans to start exporting cement to the European Union (EU) by end of 2023. It obtained a certificate of conformity to EU standards in March 2023, according to the Algeria Press Service. Djarmoun Fatimé, the cement producer’s Marketing and Communications Director, made the announcement at the Batiwest 2023 trade show taking place in Oran. The company has exported nearly 200,000t of cement and clinker to Mali and Niger since 2021. It is also hoping to target countries in West Africa such as Mauritania and Senegal.

The company operates a 2.5Mt/yr integrated cement plant with two production lines at El Beïda in Laghouat province.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement sold 13.4Mt of cement during the first half of 2023. Its sales volumes outside Nigeria were 5.4Mt, up by 12% year-on-year from 4.9Mt in the first half of 2022. The producer noted 'robust demand' in Ethiopia, the Republic of Congo, Senegal and Zambia. It reported revenues worth US$1.23bn in the first half of 2023, up by 17% from first-half 2022 levels. KOGI Reports News has reported that the producer's profit after tax rose by 3.8% in the half, to US$232m.

Chief executive officer Arvind Pathak said "Dangote Cement delivered positive results in the first half of the year. Our Nigeria operations achieved a 23% quarter-on-quarter recovery in sales during the second quarter of 2023, which was impacted by the general elections and the 'cash crunch.' However, the steep currency devaluation in mid-June slowed this volume recovery and increased already inflated operating costs." He added “We will continue to focus on our strategic growth priorities, hinged on our vision of transforming Africa and building a sustainable future. I am optimistic that our business remains resilient and well positioned to overcome unforeseen macroeconomic headwinds.”

Senegal: Cement production in Senegal by Sococim, Dangote Cement and Ciments du Sahel fell by 5.6% month-on-month in January 2023. According to the National Agency for Statistics and Demography, this drop was due to weaker exports, which fell by 7.0% month-on-month. In contrast local cement sales improved by 6.5%.

Compared to January 2022, January 2023 saw an 11.1% increase in cement production volumes. Exports rose by 58.2% year-on-year, while local sales rose by +7.5%.