By Melvin Onwubuke
The Board of Directors of Lafarge Africa has put forward a dividend of N1.90 per unit of its shares for the year ended December 2023 adding up to N30.60 billion; lowered when compared to the preceding year of N32.22 billion.
This follows a corporate notice filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Thursday. The proposed dividend, is subject to the approval of shareholders at the next Annual General Meeting of the firm.
Part of the notice read “A final dividend of 190 kobo per unit of 50 Kobo ordinary share, payable from the Pioneer Reserve, will be paid to shareholders whose names are in the register of members as at the close of business on Thursday, 28th March 2024.”
Meanwhile, the cement manufacturer disclosed that its revenue increased by about 8.6 per cent to N405 billion from N373 billion in the preceding year, according to the financial statement for the year ended December, 2023.
In his remark, the Chief Executive Officer of Lafarge Africa, Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, said “The fundamentals of our business remain strong. In spite of extremely challenging macroeconomic headwinds, we grew the top line by 8.6 per cent and improved the operating margin from 22.6 per cent to 25.3 per cent in FY 2023.”
He continued “In the face of very material FX devaluation losses and higher effective tax rate, profit after tax declined YoY by 4.7 per cent. Our performance was largely impacted by spiralling inflation and unprecedented naira devaluation, with the attendant pressure on energy and supply chain costs.
“Despite these challenges, we continue to maintain a strong free cash flow position and a strong balance sheet, positioning us for sustainable growth over the medium to long term. We are committed to delivering sustainable value to all stakeholders in the coming years, as we have done historically. I would like to thank all employees and stakeholders of Lafarge Africa for their commitment over the years.”
Post-tax profit plunged by 4.7 per cent to N51.14bn affected by the devaluation of the naira.
In addition, the company noted a higher effective tax rate last year following the expiry of the Pioneer Status Incentive in 2022.
The company sustained a positive outlook for the year 2024, saying, the Nigerian infrastructure and construction sector is projected to continue growing, inspite of inflationary pressure and currency devaluation affecting the economy.
