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LAGOS STATE, Nigeria — Top cement manufacturer, Holcim, is set to exit Nigeria over unfavourably economic conditions of doing business presently.
Holcim who owned an 84 per cent stake in Lafarge Africa (WAPCO.LG), made this disclosure on Sunday, adding that it has now sold its stake to China’s Huaxin Cement for $1 billion, as reported by Reuters.
The deal which is projected to be sealed in 2025, Holcim said its transaction is geared towards streamlining its portfolio by targeting high-growth regions like North America, with a U.S. listing in 2025.
The company is said to be focused on sustainable growth in its core markets, higher-margin products and strategic infrastructure investments.
The development became imperative after the company acquired a stake in Sublime Systems, a U.S. tech start-up dealing in low-carbon cement, in September, as it plans to improve its environmental credentials.
Recall that, the company reported a slightly better-than-expected recurring operating profit of 1.67 billion Swiss francs ($1.90 billion) for the third quarter of 2024 in October.
However, Lafarge had, in February 2024, announced an 8.6 per cent revenue growth from N373.25 billion to N405.50 billion and declared a N51.14 billion profit after tax (PAT) in 2023, which represented a 4.7 per cent drop year on year while also recording N21 billion Foreign exchange losses in 2023.
The company attributed its PAT decline to the higher effective tax rate and the pressures from FX losses due to the naira’s steady loss of value, with the local currency currently trading for N1,700 to a dollar from N700 in 2023.
The move has also been impacted by the sudden removal of fuel subsidy, which has stood as a major factor contributing to the steady increases in the prices of raw materials and other products, including cement.
Meanwhile, in October 2024, the company, in its unaudited condensed financial statements for the period ending September 30, 2024, announced that its PAT rose by 53 per cent to N60.08 billion after the first nine months of 2024 compared to N39.31billion at the end of the same period in 2023.
So far, following the current economic hardship, other companies that have exited Nigeria in 2024 include Pick n Pay, Microsoft Nigeria, Total Energies Nigeria, PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC, Kimberly-Clark Nigeria, and Diageo PLC. Sanofi pharmaceutical multinational and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc.
