Dangote Cement pays N502.6 billion dividend for 2024

Dangote Cement PLC yesterday approved a dividend payout of N502.6 billion, which translates to N30 kobo per share to its shareholders at the 2024 Annual General Meeting, held in Lagos. In the same vein, the company also significantly increased its social investments by 469.8 per cent to N13.2 billion. The corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities […]

Dangote Cement PLC yesterday approved a dividend payout of N502.6 billion, which translates to N30 kobo per share to its shareholders at the 2024 Annual General Meeting, held in Lagos.

In the same vein, the company also significantly increased its social investments by 469.8 per cent to N13.2 billion.

The corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities were in education, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, and economic empowerment.

Daily Trust reports that the dividend approved represents 99.87% of its N503.25 billion profit after tax.

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• Dangote Cement pays N502.6 billion dividend for 2024

President of the Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), Faruk Umar, said the shareholders were pleased with Aliko Dangote and his team.

He said for the company to still pay a robust dividend despite the obvious economic challenges, which also affected their operations, it shows the doggedness and fighting entrepreneurial spirit of the management.

He said, “We are happy with this result. 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.”

Chairperson of the Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mrs Bisi Bakare, also commended the company’s consistent dividend payment, noting that the company is moving in the best way of 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. The earnings are not even up to N30 per share, and for the company to still declare a N30 per share dividend speaks volumes of the quality of leadership that we are lucky to have in Dangote Cement…,” he said.

Chairman of the company, Aliko Dangote, while presenting the reports to the shareholders, said the company’s strategy in every country of operation is to be the leader in cost, quality, and service.

He said the company builds large, modern, highly efficient plants that combine the latest equipment from Europe, China, and beyond to enable it to make higher-quality cement at lower costs, thereby giving it strong competitive advantages.

He said: “We achieved a N3,580.6 trillion revenue, representing a 62.2 per cent year-on-year growth, driven by effective pricing strategies and strong demand recovery in key markets, particularly Nigeria. Group EBITDA reached an all-time milestone of N1,382.0 trillion, crossing the N1 trillion mark for the first time.”

Dangote further revealed that the company is set to commission a 3MTA grinding plant in Cote D’Ivoire, this year, as well as a 6MTA integrated plant in Itori, Ogun State.

He said another major milestone was the acquisition of 1,500 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks to replace diesel-fuelled vehicles, thereby contributing to both cost savings and environmental impact. Plans, according to him, are underway to double the fleet to 3,000 trucks.