On 6th April 2018 CemNet Newsroom reported that cement prices in Uganda have increased by UGX5000-11,000 (US$1.35-2.98) within a month, sparking a country-wide crisis in the building sector. Pader District, some 411km from the capital Kampala, reported the highest price at UGX50,000 for a 50kg bag o...

Exciting news on CemNet Newsroom on 5th April 2018 that BUA Cement is to list on the Nigerian stock exchange with the aim of giving others the opportunity to share in the business and to release capital for other projects. Whitehopleman has a long association with Nigeria and has talked with BUA on...

Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe Ltd posted a loss of US$609,589 for the year ended 31 December 2017 according to CemNet Newsroom on 4th April 2018. Revenue during the period under review fell 4.14 per cent to US$58.4m from US$61m. Apparently  heavy rainfall adversely affected cement stocking patterns and pa...

On 3rd April 2018 CemNet Newsroom reported that LafargeHolcim Algeria carried out its third export shipment of grey cement to Gambia from the port of Arzew on 28 March. Following two earlier shipments in December 2017 and March 2018, some 30,000t of bulk grey cement was delivered from its Oggaz ceme...

On 3rd April CemNet Newsroom reports that Tanzania Portland Cement, otherwise known as Twiga Cement,  recorded a net profit of TZS35.5bn (US$15.6m) last year, lower than TZS39.8bn (US$17.6m) recorded in 2016. The fall of net profit was a result of increase income tax, decrease in price and sale cost...

Apparently Kenya's Savannah Cement is seeing more opportunity for trade with  the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement according to CemNet Newsroom on 26th March 2018.  The AfCFTA signed on 20th March in Kigali, Rwanda, seeks to create a single continental market for...

On 23rd March 2018 CemNet Newsroom reported that a cement shortage had lead to retail price hikes in Banjul, Gambia. Apparently both Gacem and Salam Cement  expressed their surprise at the retail prices. Whitehopleman thinks that cement customers will not have to worry about high prices for very lon...

Very interesting to read on CemNet Newsroom on 23rd March 2018 that the West African Development Bank has approved a XOF25bn loan to help fund a third production line at Ciments du Sahel’s plant in Kirène, near Rufisque, Senegal. Apparently the new line will have a capacity of 2.7Mta and increase cu...

Whitehopleman reads on CemNet Newsroom on 23rd March 2018 that Dangote-owned Sephaku Cement has posted a 16 per cent drop in its full-year profit, despite revenue increasing by 3.7 per cent in 2017. The stated reason being that  South African economic growth was largely subdued in 2017 and that the...

Whitehopleman's Africa Desk is struggling to keep up with the news about our long-standing customer Dangote Cement. On 22nd March CemNet Newsroom reported that Dangote Cement Plc has announced that it received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulators to raise N...