BUA Cement Hits 52-Week High after Bumper Earnings
BUA Cement Plc’s market value climbed by about 10% in the equity market as bargain hunting heated up in the local bourse amidst bumper earnings announcements.
The cement company breathed fresh air as investor sentiment improved after tight trading seen ahead of its earnings announcement.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange showed BUA share price printed at N148 on Friday when 2.843 million units of the cement company valued at N410.969 million changed ownership. The share price increased by 9.63% from N135 at the previous close.
The cement company experienced strong transaction volume in the local bourse, driven by a slew of buy side analysts seeking to take positions.
BUA Cement Plc. 33.864 billion shares outstanding were valued at N5.011 trillion at the close of trading session on Friday, its highest on record in the stock market.
In the first half of 2025, BUA earnings narrative changed for good, thanks to effective costs management, product price adjustment and volume growth.
Its profit rose by 428.1% year on year to N180.9 billion from N34.25 billion in the equivalent period in 2024.
The improved bottom line was supported by a combination of strong revenue expansion, improved cost efficiency and a positive swing in foreign exchange position.
Analysts noted that these earnings fuelling factors offset the steep increase in finance costs recorded during the period, driven by increased leverage.
Its revenue rose by 59.4% to N580.3 billion on high price and volume growth – majorly as a result of better performance in Q2 standalone results.
Cost of Goods Sold grew but at a slower pace compared to revenue, driven by moderate increases in material and energy costs, reflecting softer inflationary pressures for the period, and benefits of its alternative fuel scheme, analysts said.
Hence, gross margin increased to 52.2% from 32.90% in the comparable period. Down the line, its operating expenses surged by 50.8% as distribution costs jumped by more than 61%
Other income grew by 671.8% to N1.1 billion supported by a government grant of N317.8 million. Net interest costs surged by 29.1x to N31.4 billion, owing to a material increase in interest costs and a 31% reduction in finance income.
Due to exchange rate stability in Nigeria, the company recorded an FX gain of N783.8 million, upturning its FX loss of N40.0 billion in the prior year.
This gain was enabled by the naira’s appreciation during the period, which benefited dollar-denominated liability balances. This led to a 26.0ppts increase in the PBT margin to 37.0%.
BUA closed the period with 31.2% as net profit margin, up by +27.6 percentage point year on year from 9.4% in H1-2024. Return on Average Equity (ROAE) increased significantly to 75.5% signalling a proper recovery of returns on investments, according to CardinalStone Securities Limited. #BUA Cement Hits 52-Week High after Bumper Earnings#
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