BUA to reduce price of cement by January next year
By Patience Ikpeme
Chairman, BUA cement Plc, Abdul Samad Rabiu has declared a decrease in its products price by January 2023.
There has been outcry from Nigerians over the high price of cement in the country. The prices of cement is between N4,500 to N4,800 across the country.
This was disclosed by the Chairman BUA cement Plc on Thursday in Abuja during its Annual general meeting, where he stated that it’s part of the company’s effort to support Nigerians and the government.
Following the outcry of the high cost of cement, the minister of works Dave Umahi had recently declared that the federal government is considering importing cement as a way to bring down the price.
The Chairman BUA, Abdul Samad Rabiu, explained that part of the reason for the high cost product in the country at the moment is the exchange rate.
“I understand the minister is quite concerned that the price of cement is high at almost N5,000 per ton, I appreciate where the government is coming from and the frustration from all the issues in the country” he said.
Abdul Samad further explained that the price of cement at N5,000 is not high, if the US dollar rate is considered.
He further explained the technicalities for importing cement into the country “if we look at the rate of the US dollar today, to import cement will be at N5,000. The cement cost, insurance and freight to any port in Nigeria will be in the region of about $100 a ton, so at $100 per ton, if you take N800 to $1, then it will be N4,000 per bag. Then the port cost and transportation from the port” he explained .
Abdul Samad further stated that it’s not the governments intention to import cement, but they are frustrated at the high cost of cement. He gave the assurance that they will engage with the government to support the government.
Abdul Samad said that it can effectively help the government with it’s two production lines coming on stream before the end of the year.
“If you have the volume and you reduce your price, and with the huge volume that we have , the price must come down. So even if others are not ready to support the government to support the reduction of the price of cement, they will be compelled because if they don’t reduce their cost, they will not be able to sell. That is why we are going to wait till the end of the year when those two lines are on stream. I will discuss with the minister and see how we can do that” he added.
The proposal of the board of directors to pay the sum of N2.80 per share compared to N2.60 paid in 2021 was approved by the shareholders.
The company’s audited financial statement revealed that the company’s revenue rose by 40.3% to N361.9 billion in 2022 as against N257.3 billion recorded in 2021. Profit After Tax also rose by 12.1% to N101.1 billion compared to N90.1 billion recorded in 2021.
