BUA Cement Shrinks by 10%, Investors Sell as Momentum Pauses
BUA Cement Plc’s share price declined by 10% week-on-week due to profit-taking amid a broader sell-off in the Nigerian stock market. The cement company’s share price printed at N378, though low volume was seen all week, reflecting BUA’s concentrated holding.
Stockbrokers attributed BUA Cement’s decline to ‘guilty by association’ as the Nigerian bourse posted more than N4.4 trillion in weekly losses due to downbeat investor sentiment.
Hence, the stock market value of the cement company’s 33.864 billion outstanding shares declined to N12.800 trillion at the Nigerian Exchange’s close on Friday.
The numbers showed that BUA Cement Plc is trading at about 18% below its highest valuation on the local bourse over the past 52 weeks.
After hitting a 52-week high of N460 per share, BUA Cement has been relatively stable in the local bourse. The share price spiked after strong Q1 2026 earnings triggered re-rating on NGX.
In Q1 2026, BUA Cement grew revenue by 22.1% year-on-year to ₦354.98 billion from ₦290.82 billion in Q1 2025. The topline surge reflected a combination of price adjustments and sustained demand across Nigeria’s construction and infrastructure segments.
Revenue was underpinned by strong bagged cement sales, with bagged cement contributing ₦340.58 billion and bulk cement accounting for ₦14.40 billion of the total. Profit surged strongly during the period.
Details from unaudited financials showed that operating profit increased by 50.8% to ₦179.51 billion from ₦119.04 billion in the prior year, while gross margin rose to approximately 56.9% and operating margin strengthened to 50.6%.
The bottom line was further boosted by a significant turnaround in the company’s financial position – with a net exchange rate gain of ₦13.01 billion (a reversal from a loss of ₦836.8 million in Q1 2025) and net finance costs improved from a loss of ₦18.628 billion to a marginal gain of ₦ 13.18 billion.
Hence, Q1 2026 profit before tax rose by 93.2% to ₦192.68 billion, while profit after tax more than doubled by 117.4% to ₦176.38 billion from ₦81.12 billion in the same period of 2025.
Return on Equity came in at 20.8%, while the strengthened gross and operating margins underscored efficient cost management and operational leverage.
Earnings per share climbed to ₦5.21, reflecting a significant improvement in profitability.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to ₦1.99 trillion as of March 2026, up from ₦1.86 trillion at year-end 2025, while cash and short-term deposits increased significantly to ₦404.05 billion from ₦280.38 billion, indicating robust liquidity. Lafarge Africa Slumps by 10% as Investors Exit Positions
