Dangote Cement Shareholders Applaud ₦502.6bn Dividend, Commend Social Investment Surge
By Patience Ikpeme
Shareholders of Dangote Cement Plc have expressed satisfaction with the company’s performance after approving a record-breaking dividend of ₦502.6 billion for the 2023 financial year. The payout, which translates to ₦30 per share, was approved at the company’s 2024 Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Monday in Lagos.
The company also reported a significant boost in its social investment spending, increasing its corporate social responsibility (CSR) budget by 469.8 percent to ₦13.2 billion. The interventions spanned education, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, and economic empowerment.
At the AGM, shareholders praised the Board and Management of the company for sustaining strong returns despite a difficult economic climate marked by exchange rate volatility and inflationary pressures.
President of the Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), Faruk Umar, lauded the leadership of Aliko Dangote and his team, describing the dividend payout as a remarkable achievement.
“We are happy with this result,” Umar said. “2024 was very challenging due to the fluctuations in the foreign exchange market and the company’s expansion programme. But despite all these challenges, the company was still able to pay us a very good dividend and even gave us hope of better returns on our investments in the years to come. This is very commendable, and it is only a company like Dangote Cement that can achieve this laudable feat.”
Also speaking at the AGM, Chairperson of the Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mrs. Bisi Bakare, described the company’s dividend policy as a model of shareholder value creation and a reflection of sound corporate governance.
“As a shareholder and an acute investor of this company, I am very happy and pleased with the performance of our company so far,” Bakare said. “The earnings are not even up to ₦30 per share, and for the company to still declare ₦30 per share dividend speaks volumes of the quality of leadership that we are lucky to have in Dangote Cement. It should also be noted that Dangote Cement is the only manufacturing company that paid the highest dividend in the year under review. So, we are happy and very proud to be part of this company.”
In his address to shareholders, Chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, attributed the company’s strong performance to operational efficiency, strategic expansion, and cost-effective production methods.
“We achieved a ₦3,580.6 billion revenue, representing a 62.2 percent year-on-year growth, driven by effective pricing strategies and strong demand recovery in key markets, particularly Nigeria,” Dangote said. “Group EBITDA reached an all-time milestone of ₦1,382.0 billion, crossing the ₦1 trillion mark for the first time.”
He reiterated the company’s commitment to maintaining leadership in cost, quality, and service across all operating countries, stating that Dangote Cement’s model is built on deploying large, modern, and highly efficient plants equipped with the latest global technology.
Looking ahead, Dangote announced the company’s plans to commission a 3 million metric tonne per annum (3MTA) grinding plant in Côte d’Ivoire and a 6MTA integrated cement plant in Itori, Ogun State, within the year.
He also disclosed a major investment in green logistics, noting that the company had acquired 1,500 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks to replace its diesel-fueled fleet.
“This transition to CNG will not only deliver significant cost savings but also reduce our environmental footprint. Plans are in place to double the fleet to 3,000 trucks,” Dangote added.
The 2024 AGM brought together shareholders, analysts, and industry stakeholders, many of whom described the company’s dividend declaration and future growth trajectory as a vote of confidence in the resilience of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector.
With operations in 10 African countries and a production capacity of 51.6MTA, Dangote Cement remains Africa’s largest cement producer and one of the continent’s most profitable companies.
