*Dangote Cement Plc discloses the company has achieved its highest Profit Before Tax in history at N538.4 billion with the Group’s volumes of 29.3Mta, up 13.8 percent in the year under review

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Shareholders of Dangote Cement Plc have commended the Management of the company for an impressive performance despite the economic challenges in the year under review.

The company in a statement disclosed the shareholders Tuesday, June 14, 2022, unanimously, approved N20 per share for the year ended December 31, 2021 as against the N16 paid in the preceding year.

This represents a 25 percent increase in dividend compared to the 2020 dividend of N16.00 per share, reinforcing the Company’s commitment to maximising shareholder value.

The shareholders gave their approval at the 13th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos. The statement also noted the shareholders commended the Management of Dangote Cement for the impressive performance recorded in the year under review. They also applauded the company for its efforts in reducing unclaimed dividend of the company.

Dangote Cement in the year under review achieved its highest Profit Before Tax in its history at N538.4 billion. Also, the company recorded Group volumes of 29.3Mta, up 13.8 percent. Exceptional EBITDA of N684.6 billion was achieved, up by 43.2 percent owing to strong cost control measures.

Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the company, said: “Over the last decade, Dangote Cement has recorded exponential growth across all areas.”

According to him, Group volumes are now at almost 30Mta, our capacity has tripled to 51.6Mta and we export cement from five countries across Africa.

“As the volatile global environment propels us into a new era of uncertainties, we are fortunate that the last two years have taught us resilience, adaptability and grit. These values are what we need to face unpredictable times in the future.

“Dangote Cement remains the leading cement company in Africa, well-positioned for a positive and sustainable future. We are resolute in transforming Africa, while creating sustainable value for our stakeholders,” stated the Chairman.

According to the company, Dangote in January this year had said that the Company completed the second tranche of its buy-back programme as Dangote Cement has now repurchased 0.98 percent of its outstanding shares, saying this share buy-back programme reflects the company’s unwavering commitment to creating value and identifying opportunities to return cash to shareholders.

He as well said: “We began operations in our new 3Mta Okpella plant in Edo state in 2021, where we are successfully ramping up production and have contributed to creating a new industrial hub.

“We are actively deploying our alternative fuel strategy across all countries of operations, to optimise energy efficiency, reduce reliance on fossil fuels and ultimately reduce CO2 emission.

“Whilst we focused our efforts on meeting the robust demand of our local market in Nigeria, at the expense of our export markets, we still made significant progress in our cement and clinker exports.

“In 2021, we exported seven ships of clinker out of Nigeria and exported cement from five of our operations. Our vision is for West and Central Africa to be cement and clinker self-sufficient, while making the regional and continental free trade agreements a reality.”

He added that along with the Company’s focus on strategy, it made progress on the effectiveness and diversity of its Board with the appointment of Ms. Halima Aliko-Dangote to the Board as a Non-Executive Director effective 26th February 2022, bringing female Board representation to 27 percent, from 20 percent in 2020 in addition to the six different nationalities and five independent non-executive directors on our Board.

The Chairman of Dangote Cement further emphasised: “We continue our sustainability and governance efforts with our 7 Sustainability Pillars – ‘The Dangote Way’. The 7 Pillars: cultural, economic, institutional, financial, environmental, operational and social, provide the appropriate framework in which we have embedded our corporate values and strategic objectives.”

“Our strategy in 2021 focused on energy transition, which is a crucial enabler of sustainable development and climate resilience on the continent. We have increased our focus on alternative fuels in our energy mix.

“We are actively investing in installing mechanical multi-fuel systems that can process diverse types of wastes,” said he.

Regarding the outlook on Dangote Cement in 2022, Michel Puchercos, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dangote Cement, said: “Our goal to be the partner of choice for those transforming Africa, while creating sustainable value for our stakeholders remains firm and clear.

“Despite operating in a challenging and fast-moving environment, Dangote Cement consistently delivers superior profitability to the shareholders.”

The GMD/CEO also stated: “The robust demand experienced across the continent despite the COVID-19 related challenges, confirm the powerful potential of these markets.”