Lafarge Wapco Names Hudson as CEO, Replacing Abdelkader

(Adds Wapco’s expansion project from the third paragraph.)

Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc, a unit of Lafarge SA, the world’s largest producer of the building material, named Joseph Hudson as chief executive officer following the resignation of Samy Abdelkader.

The company commented in a statement published on the website of the Nigerian Stock Exchange dated yesterday.

Wapco started output from a new production line at its factory at Ewekoro in southwestern Nigeria in September. The new facility would double the company’s output to about 4.5 million metric tons a year, Abdelkader said on Sept. 21.

With the expansion, the company’s share of the Nigerian cement market is likely to rise to 19 percent from 14 percent, Lagos-based BGL Securities said in a Sept. 19 note to clients. Dangote Cement Plc, the country’s biggest producer, has a 57 percent market share, according to its website.

--Editors: Peter Branton, Alan Purkiss

To contact the reporter on this story: Vincent Nwanma in Lagos at vnwanma@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net