Dangote Sugar Refinery has reported a 50 percent increase in gross profit to 15.36 billion naira ($100 million), for the third quarter ended September 30, compared with the earning within the same period in the previous year.

Dangote Sugar refinery recorded the huge feat despite setbacks in July due to a major fire accident that halted production at its Apapa plant in Lagos.

The 600,000 metric tonnes per annum capacity plant supplies sugar to about 70 percent of the Nigerian sugar market.  The company said that its profit after tax jumped from 4.41 billion naira ($29.7 million) to 8.17 billion naira ($5.4 million).

Nigerian publication, Guardian, reported that a statement issued by the NSE-listed company declared “a profit after tax of 5.728 billion naira ($30.8 milllion) in the second quarter ended June 30, 2012, showing an increase of 91 percent above 2.999 billion naira ($19 million) recorded in the corresponding period of 2011.”

“The company ended the period with a turnover of 53.698 billion naira ($360 million), up by 10 percent from the 48.597 billion naira ($320 million) posted in 2011,” the statement read.

Within the third quarter business operations, the sugar refiner recorded “improvements in efficiencies as cost of sales dipped from 69.44 billion naira ($46o million) to 65.96 billion naira ($440 million), depicting a 3.48 billion naira ($20 million) gain.”

Dangote Sugar Refinery is one of the subsidiaries under the most diversified conglomerate in west Africa, Dangote Group, which is headed by Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.