Shareholders of Dangote Cement Plc on Tuesday approved a 25 per cent rise in dividend payment for the 2021 financial period.
The shareholders approved N20 per share for the year ended December 31, 2021 from N16 paid in the preceding year during the company’s 13th Annual General Meeting in Lagos.
At the meeting, the company disclosed that Dangote Cement in the year under review achieved its highest profit before tax in its history at N538.4bn.
It added that the company recorded group volumes of 29.3Mta, up by 13.8 per cent. Exceptional EBITDA of N684.6bn was achieved, up by 43.2 per cent owing to strong cost control measures.
Speaking, the Chairman of the company, Aliko Dangote, said that “Over the last decade, Dangote Cement has recorded exponential growth across all areas.”
He added, “Group volumes were 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.”
Dangote said in January 2022, the company completed the second tranche of its buy-back programme as Dangote Cement has now repurchased 0.98 per cent of its outstanding shares.
He said this share buy-back programme reflects the company’s unwavering commitment to creating value and identifying opportunities to return cash to shareholders.
The chairman added that, “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.
