Business
Makinde: Tinubu has approved request on Ibadan airport upgrade to int’l status
Seyi Makinde, Oyo state governor, says President Bola Tinubu has approved the upgrade of Ibadan airport into international standard.
Makinde spoke on Wednesday when he received Hassan Baba Abubakar, the chief of air staff of the Nigeria air force (NAF), at the governor’s office in Ibadan.
The governor said the upgrade, which would commence in the next three weeks, would include the construction of a new terminal, runway and other structural features.
He said the project would be handled by experts and delivered to standard.
The politician said his administration had spent the last five years turning around the state’s economy and has identified the need for the upgrade of the Ibadan airport as being central to its economic expansion agenda.
“Since I came into office, this administration has focused on education, agriculture, health and expansion of our economy,” Makinde said.
“We have been talking to the Presidency and we got a response from them early this week that the President has graciously approved my request for Ibadan Airport to be upgraded.
“I will be in Abuja soon to get the documents relating to the approval. And within three weeks, we will start the project. We will expand the runway and build a new terminal.”
Makinde said his government’s resolve to build infrastructure that targets the economic expansion agenda has also seen it investing resources on the 110 kilometres Ibadan circular road.
He said his administration would consider the air force’s request for land for its post-retirement housing scheme on the circular road corridor.
The governor appreciated Abubakar for his officers’ effort in working with sister security agencies to secure Oyo state, urging that the cordial relationship between the force and the people of the state be maintained.
He said the air force has been a major contributor to maintenance of internal security in the state as its personnel have been working closely with Operation Burst.
Makinde reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to collaborating with the air force to complete its base in Ajia and assured that the road leading to the base would be completed promptly as promised.
He said the government is fixing multiple roads around the air force base to facilitate the easy movement of personnel and equipment, including the Ajia-Airport road with a spur to Amuloko and the Amuloko-Dagbolu-Ijebu Igbo roads.
In his remarks, Abubakar described the governor as a visionary leader, thanking him for his support to the air force.
He acknowledged the governor’s focus on economic development and enhancing security in the state.
The chief of air staff commended the governor for acquiring 60 hectares of land for the air force base at Ajia and providing security operational vehicles.
Abubakar, however, urged the governor to expedite action on the ongoing 10 kilometers Ajia-Airport road so as to ease movement of his force’s activities.
He assured that the force would maintain its support for the state and strengthen the mutual relationship.
Source: The Cable
There has been a surge of enthusiasm among many Nigerians as President Tinubu’s economic policies begin to yield promising outcomes.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has enacted more stringent controls while sustaining a lower exchange rate at the official windows. Click link to continue reading.
The black market exchange rate for the dollar to naira continues to highlight Nigeria’s forex supply challenges, with many individuals and businesses relying on the parallel market for transactions.
CBN maintains tighter controls and a lower rate at official windows, limited access and allocation restrictions force most importers, businesses, and students abroad to turn to the parallel market, where prices reflect actual demand and supply pressures. Click link to continue reading.
The Dollar to Naira exchange rate in the black market continues to highlight Nigeria’s forex supply challenges, with many individuals and businesses relying on the parallel market for transactions.
CBN maintains tighter controls and a lower rate at official windows, limited access and allocation restrictions force most importers, businesses, and students abroad to turn to the parallel market, where prices reflect actual demand and supply pressures. Click link to continue reading.
The exchange rate of the Dollar to the Naira in the black market serves as a stark indicator of the ongoing foreign exchange supply challenges facing Nigeria.
As the official market remains constrained by stringent regulations enforced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), many individuals and businesses find themselves increasingly dependent on the parallel market to fulfill their currency needs.
The naira traded near a five-month high at 1514.86/$ on the official window at the close of last week, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
This indicates a strong start to September for the domestic currency, which started the month at 1,526.09/$ before closing at 1,514.86/$ on Thursday at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.
The naira had last strengthened below the 1515/$ mark on March 6, when it closed trading at 1,512.30/$ on the NFEM. At the parallel market, it also appreciated, rising to 1,538/$, a 0.02 per cent strengthening.
Analysts maintain that the strength of the naira has been supported by improved liquidity and sustained dollar inflows. The Central Bank of Nigeria also intervened in the market to the tune of about $15bn.
Reviewing the FX market in the past week, AIICO Capital said the FX market opened the week on a calm note, with balanced flows keeping rates stable around $/N1527–1533 and no need for CBN intervention.
“Mid-week, offshore supply and opportunistic buying supported sentiment, lifting NAFEX fixing to $/N1528.13. Activity remained fluid with tight bid-offer spreads, as rates retraced to $/N1527.00 before stabilising.
Momentum improved further as the CBN intervened with $15m, and additional portfolio flows boosted supply, driving a sharp rally to the $/N1519–1523 range.
“By week’s end, the naira sustained gains, trading between $1508.00 and $1529.00. Overall, the currency appreciated strongly, closing at $/N1,514.8671,” said the AIICO Capital experts.
The weekly market report from Cowry Asset Management read, “In the coming week, we expect the naira to trade relatively stable across both the official and parallel markets, supported by sustained dollar inflows and a modest buildup in external reserves. However, pressures from speculative demand and global oil price volatility may cap further gains. The outcome of the OPEC+ meeting will be a key driver for crude oil prices, with any adjustments to production levels likely to influence Nigeria’s external earnings and, by extension, FX market dynamics.”
On the macroeconomic front, the country’s external reserves recorded a modest uptick, rising 0.10 per cent week-on-week to $41.31bn from $41.27bn, largely supported by stronger foreign inflows.
Analysts maintained that this increase in reserves provides an important buffer against external vulnerabilities such as volatile oil prices and currency pressures. It also offers the CBN greater capacity to intervene in the foreign exchange market when necessary, helping to stabilise the naira in the near term.
The outlook for the naira remains stable in the near term, supported by improved US dollar supply.
The black market exchange rate of the dollar to naira continues to highlight Nigeria’s forex supply challenges, with many individuals and businesses relying on the parallel market for transactions.
CBN maintains tighter controls and a lower rate at official windows, limited access and allocation restrictions force most importers, businesses, and students abroad to turn to the parallel market, where prices reflect actual demand and supply pressures. Click link to continue reading.
To uphold its global and continental reputation as one of the most esteemed and reliable firms within its sector, as well as to reflect the prominence of Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote in international rankings, Dangote Group has achieved remarkable revenue figures.
Dangote Cement generates its income primarily from the cement utilized in nearly every building project across Nigeria, outperforming nearly all other manufacturing companies in Africa in terms of profitability.
Dangote Cement Plc posted a stunning N2.07 trillion in revenue in just six months of 2025, reaffirming its dominance as Africa’s largest cement producer, according to Nairamettrics.
With half-year revenue already surpassing 57.86% of 2024’s full-year turnover, the company is on track for another record-breaking performance despite volume declines and rising costs.
Dangote Cement Plc is Africa’s biggest cement producer. The company manufactures and sells cement, the essential raw material for building houses, bridges, and roads. Its main plants are in Obajana (Kogi State), Gboko (Benue State), and Ibese (Ogun State).
Through these factories, Dangote Cement supplies Nigeria and other African countries with millions of tonnes of cement every year.
This milestone cements its leadership in Nigeria’s manufacturing sector, highlighting its resilience in a tough operating environment.
Profits nearly tripled year-on-year, supported by strong pricing power and disciplined cost management. Dangote Cement closed H1 2025 with a healthy net profit margin of 25.12%, compared to just 10.79% in the prior year.
Business divisions
Dangote Cement keeps things simple. Its operations are divided into two broad areas:
Nigeria Operations – its largest arm, handling production, sales, and distribution across the country.
Pan-Africa Operations – plants and sales subsidiaries in over 9 African countries, exporting Nigerian cement where needed.
This structure helps the company reduce risk by balancing revenue from its home base with income from other fast-growing African markets.
What they sell to make money
The company’s core product is cement, sold in 50kg bags, jumbo bags, or bulk quantities for large projects.
Dangote makes money by producing cement at scale, then selling it to retail distributors, wholesalers, and large construction firms. Cement is a necessity in every construction site, from housing estates to federal highways, which guarantees consistent demand.
Revenue growth drivers despite lower volumes
The company’s revenue grew by 17.70% year-on-year, reaching N2.07 trillion in H1 2025, up from N1.76 trillion in H1 2024. Remarkably, this half-year revenue already accounts for 57.86% of its full-year 2024 revenue (N3.58 trillion), underscoring the strength of its topline performance.
Interestingly, this revenue surge came despite a 4.08% decline in sales volume from 13.93 million tonnes in H1 2024 to 13.37 million tonnes in H1 2025. This suggests that price adjustments and strategic regional demand outweighed volume declines.
This reflects effective pricing strategies and resilient demand across key markets, despite pressure on sales volumes. With H1 2025 revenue already accounting for 54% of FY 2024 turnover, the company is well-positioned to outperform last year’s sales, underscoring its strength in core markets.
The inventory turnover ratio of 1.23x shows that the company sold its stock more than once in six months, translating to about 2.5 times annually a healthy rate for the cement industry. Likewise, a receivables turnover of 14.61x demonstrates Dangote’s strong market leverage and ability to secure quicker customer payments.
Revenue by segment and geographical contribution
Cement and clinker sales remained the company’s lifeblood, contributing 99.99% of total revenue. Other products brought in just N12 million, about 0.001% of overall sales, highlighting the company’s core dependence on cement.
Clinker is an intermediate product in cement production made by heating limestone and other raw materials in kilns at very high temperatures, whereas cement is the final product, made by grinding clinker with gypsum and other additives.
Dangote often exports clinker to other countries or sells it to third parties who grind it into cement. However, there is no separate breakdown for each of these products in the revenue segment.
Breaking down the revenue by geographical dominance, Nigeria accounted for 67.89% (N1.44 trillion) compared to 55.12% (N991.38 billion) in H1 2024, while Pan-African operations contributed 32.11% (N682.12 billion), a decline from the 44.88% (N807.11 billion). The balance was adjusted for eliminations, reinforcing the company’s dual-market strategy: dominance at home, steady growth abroad.
Nigeria contributed the most to the company’s revenue at 67.89% while other African countries altogether contributed 32.11% to the top line (revenue).
Nigeria: 67.89% of revenue (N1.44 trillion).
Pan-Africa: 32.11% (N682.12 billion).
The Pan-Africa countries include – South Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Senegal, Cameroun, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, D.R. Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Togo, Zimbabwe, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger, Madagascar, Benin, Mozambique.
Profit margin pressures eased
Operating profit climbed 47.0% year-on-year to N810.98 billion in H1 2025, up from N551.60 billion in the same period of 2024, while operating margin improved slightly to 39.19% from 31.34%. Pre-tax profit surged 149.2% YoY to N730.03 billion, almost two and a half times the prior year.
The earnings boost was driven by a 17% revenue increase alongside a more efficient cost profile. Cost of sales declined to 41.20% of revenue (N853.56 billion), compared to 47.34% in H1 2024, meaning the company spent less relative to the revenue growth achieved. As a result, gross profit rose to N1.22 trillion, representing a margin of 58.8% and already accounting for 62.95% of full-year 2024 levels.
Profitability was further strengthened by a lower net finance expense. Finance costs dropped to N216.16 billion from N332.52 billion a year earlier, while finance income more than quadrupled to N113.26 billion from N24.79 billion. This resulted in net finance expenses of just N102.91 billion, compared to N307.72 billion in H1 2024. Overall, net income margin expanded sharply to 25.12%, from 10.79% last year, underscoring the company’s improved profitability profile.
Liquidity concerns
Trade and other receivables surged 43.03% to N166.98 billion, indicating a significant rise in payments yet to be converted into cash.
Inventory rose 6.96% to N716.29 billion, reflecting a buildup of stock to support sales.
Cash and cash equivalents fell 14.66% to N383.90 billion, reducing immediate liquidity buffers.
Who else is in the game
In Nigeria, Dangote Cement competes directly with BUA Cement and Lafarge Africa. BUA Cement is its closest challenger locally, but Dangote still commands the biggest share of Nigeria’s cement market.
Globally, it faces pressure from multinational giants like LafargeHolcim and HeidelbergCement.
What makes Dangote Cement stand out is its scale is as it produces more than its rivals combined in Nigeria and has extended operations to countries like Ethiopia, Senegal, and Tanzania.
What this tells us
Here’s what it all boils down to: Dangote Cement is Africa’s cement powerhouse. It dominates Nigeria’s market, enjoys healthy profit margins, and continues to expand across the continent. Rising costs remain a challenge, but its pricing power has shielded it so far.
For investors and observers, the company’s ability to turn 2 trillion naira in 6 months into N730 billion profit highlights just how strong its business model is.
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