Lafarge Africa Plc (WAPCO) on Friday published its first quarter report for the period ended 31, March 2020 on the website on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The report shows growth in top line and bottom line figures of the manufacturing giant.
Lafarge reported a net sales of N63.696 billion, up by 9.79% when compared to the net sales of N58.016 billion reported in the first quarter of 2019.
Profit after tax rose to N8.067 billion from N3.145 billion reported in Q1’19, implying a growth of 156.52%.
The earnings per share (EPS) of the firm rose to 50 kobo from 20 kobo reported in the first quarter of 2019.With reference to the share price of N10.70, the P.E ratio of Lafarge is calculated as 21.37x with earnings yield of 4.68%.
Reacting to the first quarter report, the CEO of Lafarge Africa Plc, Khaled El Dokani, stated that:
“I am proud of the plan Lafarge Africa has implemented to protect the health of our people while supporting our partners and communities. The first quarter results confirm that our turnaround initiatives are effective and our strong balance sheet is mitigating the risks borne by the pandemic that has started hitting our country in March.
According to Lafarge’s CEO, COVID-19 impact on the 2020 results cannot be reasonably estimated at this stage, but long-term prospects remains positive.
“The company expects that the public safety measures issued by the federal and state authorities in Nigeria and around the world will adversely affect the company’s results in Q2, 2020. Despite short-term disruptions, Lafarge Africa Plc is however confident in the underlying resilience of its businesses and operating model as the company has developed robust cost and cash optimization initiatives. The Lafarge Africa’s strong balance sheet and reduced cost base will also help minimize the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic”.