The Pan-African subsidiaries of Dangote Cement, operating in nine African countries, have bounced back from years of losses to post a combined profit of about N306 billion in 2025, marking the first time in years they’ve added positive figures to the group’s bottom line.
The profit marks a major turnaround from a loss of over N24 billion in the previous financial year, accounting for roughly 24 per cent of the group’s annual profit after eliminations.
Dangote Cement’s audited financial results for the year ending December 2025 reveal that group profit has soared past the trillion-naira mark, nearly doubling from N503 billion in 2024 to N1.01 trillion in 2025.
It’s unclear if the company’s offshore investments will keep delivering positive returns, as turning revenue from overseas operations into profit continues to be a challenge.
The N306 billion profit from the Pan-African subsidiaries comes mostly from finance income of N209 billion, while their operating profit of N193 billion is just a small slice of the N1.45 trillion in sales revenue these subsidiaries brought in during the year.
Sales revenue from offshore operations dropped from N1.48 trillion in 2024, with operating profit also falling from N196 billion.
Offshore operations made up roughly 33 per cent of Dangote Cement’s total sales revenue of N4.31 trillion, but their share of operating profit fell to around 10 per cent.
This means finance income gave the boost needed for offshore operations to positively impact group profit in 2025. The real game changer was the exchange rate differences, as the year saw a shift from net losses to net gains, with offshore subsidiaries taking the lead.
Among the offshore subsidiaries, Senegal recorded the largest sales revenue drop, falling 21.4 per cent to N151 billion. Ethiopia followed, with sales declining 15.6 per cent to N213 billion.
Dangote Cement Cameroon came in close behind, posting a 15.5% drop to end the year just under N200 billion. In Ghana, sales revenue was N77.5 billion, down 3% from the previous year, while South Africa held steady with a turnover of N223.5 billion.
Tanzania, the top offshore subsidiary by revenue, boosted sales by 17 percent to over N304 billion in 2025, securing a clear lead. Zambia matched that growth rate with a 17 percent rise to nearly N136 billion, while Congo posted a turnover of N141 billion, up 16.4 percent for the year. Cote D’Ivoire, newly operational during the year, recorded sales revenue exceeding N10 billion.
The group’s turnover for the year hit N4.31 trillion, up 20 per cent from the N3.58 trillion recorded in 2024. This revenue growth came despite a drop in production and sales volumes, with sales falling from 27.7 million tonnes in 2024 to just under 27.5 million tonnes in 2025.
The revenue boost of up to N730 billion for the year was driven by product price hikes, with the Nigerian market bearing the brunt. As sales from Pan-African subsidiaries declined, the entire increase in sales revenue came from the domestic market.
By the end of 2025, domestic market sales revenue jumped 34.8 per cent to N2.96 trillion, reflecting a resilient market where product demand continues to rise alongside price increases.
Despite significant gains in sales revenue, the company’s management kept costs tightly controlled, allowing the earnings to flow straight to the bottom line. Defying the industry trend, Dangote Cement managed to reduce its largest cost component—production costs—which dipped slightly to N1.63 trillion.
With higher sales and lower cost of sales, gross profit jumped to a strong N2.67 trillion, up 38 percent for the year. Operating costs also eased, boosting margins further, as operating profit climbed 53 percent to end the year at N1.76 trillion.
Another major cost saving came from finance expenses, which dropped from over N700 billion to N351.5 billion during the period. This decline was due to the absence of net foreign exchange losses, which added as much as N249 billion to finance costs in 2024.
On top of that, interest expenses on borrowings were cut in half to N394 billion, thanks to a major reduction in interest-bearing financial liabilities during the year. This helped the company’s balance sheet debts to fall sharply from N2.63 trillion in 2024 to N1.16 trillion in 2025.
The company wrapped up its 2025 operations with earnings per share of N59.86, compared to N29.74 in 2024. A cash dividend of N45 per share has been declared for 2025, up from the N30 per share paid for the 2024 trading year.
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