Despite short-term disruptions in the operations of Lafarge Africa Plc first quarter of 2020, the cement company has posted a net profit of N8.1 billion compared with the N3.2 billion achieved in the corresponding period of 2019, representing 153.1 per cent growth in profit after tax.

According to the financial statement released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the cement giant also posted a profit before tax of N9.4 billion in the period in contrast to N4.6 billion reported in the first quarter of last year.

On the top line, revenue increased to N63.7 billion from N58.0 billion, while the cost of sales jumped to N46.1 billion from N40.4 billion.

The selling and marketing expenses were down to N838.4 million from N916.5 million, while administrative expenses dropped to N5.1 billion from N5.3 billion.

The firm also said it increased its other income to N151.9 million from N34.6 million and had flat a gross profit of N17.6 billion over the two periods, with operating profit slightly up to N11.8 billion from N11.5 billion.

Commenting on the results, the CEO of Lafarge Africa, Mr Khaled El Dokani, stated that, 'I am proud of the plan Lafarge Africa has implemented to protect the health of our people while supporting our partners and communities.

'The first-quarter results confirm that our turnaround initiatives are effective and our strong balance sheet is mitigating the risks borne by the pandemic that has started hitting our country in March.'

Also, the company said COVID-19 impact on the 2020 results cannot be reasonably estimated at this stage, but long-term prospects remain positive.

However, Lafarge Africa said it expects that the public safety measures issued by the federal and state authorities in Nigeria and around the world will adversely affect the company's results in Q2, 2020.

© Pakistan Press International, source Asianet-Pakistan