Sales volumes at Dangote Cement Cameroon, the local subsidiary of the conglomerate controlled by Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote, fell 14.1% in 2025, according to the group’s audited financial statements reviewed by Business in Cameroon.

Output from the company’s Douala plant, which has an annual capacity of 1.5 million tons, reached 1.2 million tons as of December 31, 2025, down from 1.4 million tons sold in 2024—a decline of about 200,000 tons.

Dangote Cement says the drop reflects “uncertainties linked to the elections.” The group is referring to Cameroon’s presidential election held in October 2025, whose official results triggered unrest in several cities and disrupted economic activity.

Douala, the country’s economic capital and home to Dangote Cement’s production facility, was among the hardest hit, according to official data.

The decline in Cameroon also weighed on the group’s broader African operations. “Our Pan-African operations recorded a 1.6% drop in volumes to 11.0 million tons in 2025, compared with 11.1 million tons during the same period last year,” the company said in its audited financial statements.

The group attributed the weaker performance to pre- and post-election uncertainty in Cameroon, Senegal, and South Africa, as well as liquidity constraints in Ethiopia linked to delays in adopting the national budget.

Optimistic outlook for 2026

Financially, the slowdown in Cameroon also affected the group’s results. Although Dangote Cement’s consolidated EBITDA rose in 2025—driven largely by strong performance in Nigeria—profitability across its Pan-African operations declined.

Pan-African EBITDA fell 14.8% to 294.1 billion naira (about CFA120.5 billion), representing a margin of 20.2%, compared with 345.3 billion naira (about CFA141.4 billion) and a margin of 23.3% in 2024.

The company said the drop reflects weaker sales volumes in several key markets, including Ethiopia, Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, and South Africa.

Despite the setback, Dangote Cement remains optimistic about its prospects in Cameroon in 2026.

The company expects infrastructure projects—including the construction of the Douala–Yaoundé highway, road and bridge projects nationwide, and other development initiatives—to drive cement demand in both the short and medium term.

Plans to expand capacity

Dangote Cement has operated in Cameroon since 2015 through its 1.5-million-ton plant located along the Wouri River in Douala.

The company’s arrival ended the 48-year monopoly previously held by Cimenteries du Cameroun (Cimencam), the local subsidiary of LafargeHolcim Maroc Afrique.

In the near term, Dangote Cement plans to increase its production capacity in Cameroon and six other African countries. On February 28, 2026, Aliko Dangote signed a $1 billion contract in Lagos with China’s Sinoma Engineering to support these expansions.

Two options are being considered for the new investment in Cameroon: expanding the capacity of the existing Douala plant or reviving a long-delayed project to build a new plant of similar size in Nomayos, near Yaoundé.

The Nomayos project has been dormant for more than a decade.

Source: ecofinagency