Dangote Cement vs BUA Cement: Business and Stock Comparison

Last checked: 13 October 2026. This comparison is for education, not financial advice, and it does not say which share is better. All results figures are for the six months to 30 June 2026 and come from company releases as reported by Nairametrics, Proshare and other sites. Prices are approximate.

Dangote Cement and BUA Cement are Nigeria’s two largest cement producers by market value, and investors often compare them. They are quite different businesses, so a fair comparison looks at scale, profitability, geography, valuation and dividends, not just the share price.

Scale

Dangote Cement is much larger. Its group revenue for the half-year was ₦2,513.9 billion, against ₦728.9 billion for BUA Cement, about 3.4 times as much. Dangote’s profit after tax was ₦638.5 billion, and BUA’s was ₦324.9 billion. Dangote reported group cement and clinker sales of 14.9 million tonnes in the period, while BUA states installed capacity of about 17 million tonnes a year in total.

Where they operate

Dangote Cement operates in Nigeria and several other African countries, and its pan-African operations earned ₦775.4 billion of revenue in the half-year. Nigeria accounted for most of its EBITDA, ₦1,085.8 billion out of a group total of ₦1,188.3 billion. BUA Cement’s plants are in Nigeria, in Sokoto and Edo States, and it describes itself as the market leader in the North West, South East and South South. One company has geographic spread and the other has a Nigerian focus, which affects exposure to currency and local demand.

Profitability

Using the reported figures, BUA kept about 45 kobo of profit after tax for each naira of revenue (₦324.9 billion on ₦728.9 billion). Dangote kept about 25 kobo (₦638.5 billion on ₦2,513.9 billion). That is my arithmetic, and it does not mean BUA is the better company, because tax, finance costs and business mix differ. Dangote’s group EBITDA margin was 47.3%, and BUA reported an operating ratio of 49.1%, meaning costs took about half of revenue.

Growth in the half-year

• Dangote: revenue up 21.4%, profit after tax up 22.7%, earnings per share ₦38.22.
• BUA: revenue up about 25.6%, profit after tax up about 79.6%, earnings per share ₦9.59.

BUA’s profit growth was faster, but it came from a smaller base and from a year when it benefited from a more stable exchange rate, according to Legit.ng.

Balance sheet and expansion

Proshare reports that Dangote Cement moved from net debt to a net cash position within two quarters, with finance costs cut by about 48%. The company targets 80 million tonnes of capacity by 2030. BUA is raising capacity from 17 to 20 million tonnes, and expansion usually needs funding, so check its borrowings in the filed statements yourself.

Valuation and dividends

Share prices cannot be compared directly, because the companies have different numbers of shares. Dangote traded near ₦1,066.70 and BUA near ₦297 in early October. Doubling half-year earnings per share as a rough annual figure gives price-to-earnings ratios of about 14 for Dangote and about 15.5 for BUA. These are crude estimates. Dividend yields were about 4.2% for Dangote, based on ₦45 per share, and about 3.4% for BUA, based on ₦10 per share.

Risks specific to each

For Dangote, Proshare notes that a higher effective tax rate held back earnings growth compared with pre-tax profit growth. Its pan-African segment also saw EBITDA margin slip to 17.6% from 20.1%, according to IntelliNews. For BUA, second-quarter profit after tax of about ₦148.5 billion was lower than the first quarter’s ₦176.4 billion, and the company is concentrated in one country and one set of regional markets. Neither risk makes a share good or bad on its own, but both belong in a fair comparison.

Trading differences

BUA Cement’s free float is small compared with its market value, which can limit how easily large orders are filled. Check each stock’s trading volume and spread before you place an order.

What we could not confirm

• Exact current prices, since data sites differ.
• BUA’s total borrowings, which should be read from the filed statements.
• How either company will perform in the second half of 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Which is bigger? Dangote Cement, on revenue, profit and market value.

Which pays the higher dividend yield? Dangote, at about 4.2% versus about 3.4% on the figures above.

Which is the better buy? This article does not answer that. It depends on your goals and the price you pay.

Key takeaways

Dangote is larger and more diversified, while BUA is smaller, Nigeria-focused and showed faster recent profit growth. Compare valuation, margins, debt, dividends and liquidity rather than the share price alone.

Sales volume is one of the first figures to examine. If a manufacturer sells more tonnes of cement, it may generate additional revenue and use its factories more efficiently. Higher factory utilisation can spread fixed costs across more products, potentially improving profitability.
But demand tells only part of the story. If several manufacturers expand production at the same time, oversupply may develop. Companies might compete aggressively for customers, limiting their ability to increase prices even when construction activity is growing.
Profit margins reveal whether higher sales are translating into meaningful earnings. Energy, transport, packaging, maintenance, and raw material expenses can consume the additional revenue generated by increased demand. Currency depreciation can also make imported equipment, spare parts, and certain production inputs more expensive.

Sources checked

• Dangote Cement H1 2026 earnings release on the NGX document library
• Nairametrics, Dangote Cement H1 2026 and BUA Cement H1 2026 reports
• Proshare, “Dangote Cement Plc H1 2026 Results”
• Legit.ng, “Nigeria’s Top Cement Makers Post Strong H1 2026 Earnings”
• Mansa Markets and StockAnalysis quote pages