Dangote Cement pays N10.5 per share as dividend in 90% profit payout

Shareholders of Dangote Cement put on a happy face as they gave approval for the dividend payout of N10.50 per 50k share, representing 90 percent of net profit and an increase of 23.5 percent over the N8.5 per share paid last year.

The approval was given on Wednesday at the company’s 9th Annual General Meeting (AGM), held in Lagos.

According to them, Dangote Cement is a very reliable company that has consistently demonstrated its love for the shareholders.

The President, Progressives Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Boniface Okezie, said the shareholders were pleased with Aliko Dangote and his team.

“We are very happy and pleased with this result. 2017 was very tough with the recession and fluctuation in the foreign exchange market, which the chairman also said affected their operations.

“But despite all these challenges, the company was still able to pay us a very good dividend, better than last year, and even gave us hope of better returns on our investments in the years to come,” Okezie said.

The Chairman, Dangote Cement, Aliko Dangote, attributed the 31 per cent increase in the company’s revenue of N805.6bn to its pan-African operations growth.

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“Our pan-African operations increased volumes by 8.4 per cent, with Ethiopia, Senegal, Cameroon and South Africa all performing strongly and close to their operating capacity,” he said.

Dangote noted that even though the company experienced some challenges in its operations in sub-Saharan Africa, the management responded in robust fashion and benefited from “the diversity we have created across our business and because of our local knowledge and attitudes towards doing business in neighbouring countries in Africa.”

While explaining the rationale behind the success recorded by the company, the acting Group Chief Executive, Dangote Cement, Joe Makoju, said the company’s decision to increase the use of local coal in Nigeria helped to improve its fuel security, maintain production uptime and reduced the need for foreign currency.

“We source coal from our parent company, Dangote Industries, and from another Nigerian supplier, and we are very happy with the way this has worked out for us because it has enabled us to phase out the use of expensive low pour fuel oil in our kilns and also to reduce our use of imported coal.

“As it stands, I think we will focus on building new grinding plants along the coast of West Africa, and ensure we have clinker export facilities in Nigeria. We are looking at the possibility of two new lines in Nigeria, perhaps by the end of 2020 and its likely these will be in Edo State and Obajana, with a combined capacity of 6MTA,” he said.

By Oluwasegun Olakoyenikan….

 

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