Lafarge Africa Plc has cleared all its debts and ended 2025 with more cash than liabilities, marking a major turnaround in its financial position.
A review of the cement maker’s audited financial statement for the year ended December 31, 2025, by Pinnacle Daily shows that Lafarge Africa reduced its total loans and borrowings from ₦210.7 million in 2024 to zero in 2025.
It also cut lease liabilities from ₦2.0 billion to ₦1.3 billion, and by the end of the year, the company had a net cash position of ₦222.2 billion, meaning it held far more cash than debt.
The stronger balance sheet supported a sharp rise in profit, with revenue increasing from ₦696.8 billion in 2024 to over ₦1.06 trillion in 2025.
Profit after tax rose by 173 per cent to ₦273.1 billion, up from ₦100.1 billion the previous year. Operating profit almost doubled to ₦392.1 billion, while earnings per share grew from 622 kobo to 1,696 kobo.
A cursory look at the results indicates that a major reason for the improved performance was the drop in finance costs.
The company moved from a net finance cost of ₦40.5 billion in 2024 to a net finance income of ₦19.2 billion in 2025, helped by lower borrowing and stronger cash management.
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During the year, Lafarge Africa fully repaid its ₦5.3 billion loan under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Bank of Industry (BOI) Power and Aviation Intervention Fund, as well as the ₦6.4 billion AshakaCem intervention fund.
Even though it has no outstanding loans, the company still has access to ₦25.9 billion in unused overdraft facilities and ₦272.9 billion in revolving credit lines for short-term funding if needed.
Some accounting issues also affected the results, as independent auditors highlighted the ₦9.58 billion trade receivables balance as an area requiring careful judgment in estimating expected credit losses.
The company recorded ₦3.78 billion as insurance recovery related to an incident at its Ashaka Power Plant.
Technical service fees rose sharply to ₦20.1 billion following agreements with Holcim Technology Limited and Huaxin Building Materials Group after a change in the company’s parent ownership.
The company also wrote off ₦9.1 billion worth of off-spec clinker inventory, with a net impact of about ₦2.0 billion on profit after earlier provisions.
While Lafarge Africa applied a 34 per cent tax rate for deferred tax calculations following the 2025 Tax Reform Act, its repayments for gas increased significantly to ₦72.8 billion, which the company will assess for recoverability over the contract period.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X
