CardinalStone’s full year 2025 forecast has revealed that Dangote Cement’s revenue had moved up a bit, from N4.1 trillion to N4.2 trillion.
This is contained in the company’s latest report titled, ‘Dangote Cement Plc: Sustaining Market Leadership Amid Exogenous Headwinds’
The report showed upward revision of revenue growth in 2025, even with the hurdles the company is facing in its Pan- African operations, a case where production volume is under pressure.
CardinalStone’s analysis figured out some factors limiting regional performance such as, the uncertainties in South Africa, due to the coming elections, hesitant government expenditure in Ethiopia and the delays in Senegal’s construction sector.
The analysis states, “Production volumes fell by 4.3% year-on-year to 4.4 million tonnes in Q1 2025. The decline is due to weaker private sector demand amid elevated prices, increased market competition, and rising insecurity, particularly in the North Central region.”
Despite these headwinds, CardinalStone maintained a HOLD rating on Dangote Cement shares, particularly for investors who entered at their reference price of N440. They set a 12-month target price of N481.33 per share.
Dangote Cement’s full-year 2024 revenue report was N3.5 trillion, which was a 62% year-on-year increase.
According to CardinalStone analysts, Dangote Cement delivered stronger margins in Q1 2025, with gross margin rising by 7.8 percentage points to 59.1%, and EBIT margin climbing by 8.7 percentage points to 40.0%.
The analysis explained that: “This uptick stemmed from easing energy cost pressures amidst the company’s green energy and logistics efficiency initiative.”
Haulage cost, they maintained, was reduced by 1.1%, reinforced by the introduction of CNG trucks purchased in 2024, streamlining logistics and cutting fuel spendings.
The analysis further projects that; “For FY 2025, we forecast gross and EBIT margins at 58.9% and 38.5%, respectively, compared to our earlier estimates of 50.3% and 28.2%.”
With respect to financing, the analysts said they expect only a slight rise, as the company pays off major debts, including a N100 billion bond and a N50.3 billion loan from its parent company, while covering short-term needs with a new N100 billion commercial paper.
It concluded that profit is expected to climb for the remainder of the year if, Dangote Cement maintains the current cost efficiency, operates in a more stable foreign exchange environment, with less foreign currency exposure.