BENUE CEMENT ANNOUNCES N4.7 BILLION PROFIT

[furtune]

Benue Cement announces N4.7 billion profit

THE Benue Cement Company Plc, a subsidiary of Dangote Industries Limited, has announced its third quarter results for the period January 1 to September 30, 2008, posting a 118.81 per cent increase in turnover compared to the same period in 2007.

Operating profit for the period was N4.7 billion a significant increase of 175.05 per cent compared to the same period in 2007 as the company's new production capacity comes online. BCC is in the process of expanding production to three million tons a year and continues to enjoy regular fuel and power supply to the plant thereby allowing uninterrupted operations.

Dangote Cement is investing heavily in developing local cement production capacity in Nigeria and the expansion of BCC is a key aspect of this process. In the first half of 2008, BCC commissioned the first of its two kiln lines as planned. The kiln has been producing at its expected capacity and this has impacted positively on the Q3 results. The second kiln was commissioned in September 2008 and production is being progressively increased.

Speaking in Lagos, Dangote Cement CEO Tony Hadley said: "The expanded capacity we have invested in at BCC is now coming on stream and we are delighted that this is reflected in the strong Q3 results we are announcing. BCC is not yet operating at full production capacity, and we are ramping up the second kiln, which will take us up towards three million tons. We expect further increases in production to be reflected in our year end results and expect strong performance throughout 2009."