Dangote Cement Plc has cemented its status as West Africa’s dominant cement supplier, reporting a 62.3 percent surge in exports to 1.1 million tonnes in the first half of 2026, even as the company posted double-digit growth across nearly every major financial metric.
The unaudited results for the six months ended June 30, 2026, released this week, show a company firing on multiple cylinders: rising profitability, expanding margins, disciplined cost control, and an accelerating pan-African export strategy that is reshaping the competitive landscape of the region’s building materials industry.
At the heart of the results is Dangote Cement’s growing export machine. The company confirmed it dispatched 20 clinker shipments from Nigeria to Ghana, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire during the six months, a tangible sign that its long-stated ambition to turn Nigeria into a regional cement export hub is moving from strategy to execution.
Industry watchers note that clinker exports carry particular significance for Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and industrial diversification agenda, as the country seeks to reduce its historic overreliance on crude oil exports.
For Dangote Cement, the West African corridor long dominated by imports from Europe and Asia now represents a fast-growing outlet for capacity built at home.
The headline numbers tell a story of broad-based strength:
- Profit after tax rose 22.7 percent year-on-year to N638.5 billion
- Group revenue climbed 21.4 percent to N2.514 trillion
- Group EBITDA increased 25.8 percent to N1.188 trillion, translating to a robust EBITDA margin of 47.3 percent
- Earnings per share advanced 24.3 percent to N38.22
- The company closed the half-year with a net cash position of N215.2 billion, underscoring balance-sheet strength even as it continues to fund expansion
Group sales volumes grew 11.8 percent to 14.9 million tonnes, a performance the company attributed to resilient demand across its key operating markets on the continent.
Once again, the domestic market proved to be Dangote Cement’s most powerful earnings driver. EBITDA from Nigerian operations jumped 28.4 percent to N1.086 trillion, with margins improving sharply to 60.1 percent, a level that speaks to both pricing power and tightening cost discipline in the company’s home market.
That cost discipline was not incidental. The company pointed to a meaningful reduction in cash costs in Nigeria, aided by a more favorable energy mix, a critical lever in an industry where energy costs typically represent one of the largest components of production expense.
Nigerian cement makers have spent recent years diversifying away from costlier fuel sources, and Dangote’s results suggest that strategy is beginning to pay dividends at scale.
Beyond the balance sheet, Dangote Cement used the results to spotlight operational investments aimed at trimming costs further downstream. The company commissioned a mobile refueling unit at its Okpella plant in Edo State, a move designed to streamline haulage operations and reduce downtime for its truck fleet.
In Tanzania, the company added 300 compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered trucks to its logistics fleet as part of a broader continental push to lower transportation costs and reduce its carbon footprint by shifting away from diesel-dependent haulage.
Chief Executive Officer Arvind Pathak framed the results as evidence of sustained momentum built since the start of the year, rather than a one-off quarter of strong numbers.
“Our performance in the first half of 2026 reflects the strong momentum we have continued to build since the start of the year. The business delivered another solid set of results, supported by higher sales volumes, disciplined execution, and sustained demand across our key markets,” Pathak said.
He pointed to the company’s revenue growth, expanding EBITDA, and its N215.2 billion net cash balance as proof points of a resilient business model, one he said gives Dangote Cement room to keep investing in growth without straining its capital allocation discipline.
On the export front, Pathak was direct about the strategy’s payoff: shipment growth to regional markets, he said, reflects genuinely rising demand for Dangote products across West Africa, rather than simply excess domestic capacity being redirected outward.
Perhaps the most consequential disclosure in the results concerns Dangote Cement’s expansion pipeline. Pathak confirmed that construction and commissioning work at the company’s new 6 million tonnes per annum (Mta) Itori plant is at an advanced stage, with completion targeted before the end of 2026.
The Itori facility is expected to do double duty: reinforcing Dangote Cement’s domestic production base while simultaneously expanding its capacity to serve export markets.
It is also a key building block in the company’s longer-term target of reaching 80 Mta of installed production capacity across Africa by 2030, a target that, if achieved, would significantly widen the gap between Dangote Cement and its regional competitors.
“Looking ahead, market fundamentals remain favorable, and our strategic investments continue to strengthen the business. Combined with our unwavering focus on operational excellence and cost discipline, these factors position us well to sustain our growth trajectory and continue creating lasting value for our shareholders,” Pathak added.
Dangote Cement remains Africa’s largest cement producer, with 55.0 Mta of installed capacity spanning multiple countries. In Nigeria alone, the company operates 35.25 Mta of production capacity across plants in Obajana, Ibese, Gboko, and Okpella, underpinned by what it describes as a fully integrated quarry-to-customer operating model.
With exports rising sharply, margins expanding, and a major new plant nearing completion, the first-half results position Dangote Cement to enter the second half of 2026 with considerable momentum and reinforce Nigeria’s emerging role not just as Africa’s largest cement consumer, but increasingly, as one of its most important suppliers.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Dangote Cement’s H1 2026 results show a company converting scale into strategy: exports jumped 62.3% to 1.1 million tonnes while profit rose 22.7% to N638.5 billion, proof that Nigeria is shifting from being Africa’s biggest cement consumer to becoming one of its most important cement exporters.
With the Itori plant nearing completion and a 60.1% domestic margin underpinning the business, the key takeaway is this: Dangote Cement’s growth is no longer just about feeding Nigeria’s construction boom; it’s about powering West Africa’s.
