Africa’s biggest cement maker cut its interest bill by 58% and made US$1.08 billion before tax

Dangote Cement, the Nigerian company founded by Aliko Dangote, made N1.47 trillion (about US$1.08 billion) before tax in the first nine months of 2026, up 41.5% from N1.04 trillion a year earlier. Its interest bill fell by 58% over the same period, from N286 billion to N121 billion.

For Black readers on both sides of the Atlantic, the numbers are a measure of what an African-owned industrial company looks like at scale. Cement is the raw material of roads, housing and ports, and this firm, which sells in Nigeria, Senegal, Ethiopia, Tanzania and other African markets, is run from Nigeria.

The results, filed with the Nigerian Exchange on Tuesday and reported by Nairametrics, Global Cement and AllAfrica, show revenue up 19.6% to N3.77 trillion (US$2.77 billion). Profit after tax rose 31% to N974.8 billion (US$714 million). In the third quarter alone, profit after tax rose 51% to US$246 million on revenue of US$923 million.

Sales volumes grew 9% to 22.1 million tonnes. Nigeria accounted for 14.1 million tonnes, up 6.4%, and exports of clinker and cement from Nigeria rose 41.8% to 1.5 million tonnes. Operations elsewhere in Africa grew faster, with Senegal up 30%, Ethiopia up 19% and Tanzania up 9%. Sales were lower in Ghana and Cameroon, and a new grinding plant in Ivory Coast sold 0.53 million tonnes.

Debt paid down

The drop in finance costs is the main reason profit outran revenue. According to the Nairametrics breakdown of the filing, the company went from net debt of N310 billion to net cash of N115 billion, and its cash balance rose 49% to N592.7 billion. Total financial liabilities fell 31% to N539.6 billion.

Not every cost went the right way. Haulage costs rose 23.5% to N489.3 billion, and the company’s pan-African operations reported a net loss of N7.9 billion even as their operating profit rose 64%.

The company is now building out. The first phase of a 6 million tonne a year plant at Itori, in Ogun State, is scheduled for commissioning in 2027, and the group is aiming to lift capacity from 55 million to 80 million tonnes a year across Africa. For the full year it expects “high single-digit sales growth”, per Global Cement’s report of the results.

The figures are unaudited third-quarter statements.