Shareholders of Dangote Cement Plc have approved N272.6 billion as dividend, translating to N16 per share for the year ended December 31, 2020.
The shareholders, at the virtual 12th annual general meeting (AGM) held in Lagos commended the management for the full disclosure provided for the year, share buyback process and the various donations made at COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking on behalf of shareholders, the founder, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Sir Sunny Nwosu commended the company for attaining a trillion-naira revenue growth, saying that the Company is moving in the best way of corporate governance.
He appealed to the company to prevail on its numerous distributors who arbitrarily sell cement at very high costs as against the real factory price, thereby making so much profit for themselves.
Also, a shareholder, Nona Awoh applauded the board for the consistency in dividend payout, urging the board to consider payment of dividend twice a year.
Speaking to shareholders, chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote assured the shareholders of better returns always, noting that the company is doing everything possible to create wealth for its shareholders and other stakeholders.
He further said despite the challenging year surrounding by COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was a record year for us across the board.
“Dangote Cement hit the N1 trillion mark in term of revenue. Group revenues were up 16 per cent compared to 2019. We record Group cement sales of 25.7 million tonnes (Mt) and revenues of N1.034 trillion. Most notably was our record high EBITDA of N478.1 billion, up 20.9 per cent compared to 2019.”
Dangote said that the board maintains the 2019 dividend of N16 per share, reinforcing its commitment to maximising shareholder value.
Also, the chairman said: “In 2020, we commissioned our Apapa and Onne export terminals in Nigeria and commenced clinker exports to West and Central Africa. The vision for our exporter strategy is to make West and Central Africa cement and clinker self-sufficient, with Nigeria as the main supplier and exporter. We also remain focused on meeting the demand in Nigeria and as such, we increased our capacity by three metric tonnes (MT) on Obajana.”
He explained that “Pan-Africa volumes were up by 4.4 per cent to 10.0Mt despite the various lock-downs and restrictions in 2020. The Pan-African region achieved a record high EBITDA of N71.3 billion, up 49.0 per cent, notably supported by strong performance in Ethiopia and Senegal.”
On outlook for 2021, Dangote said the company remains optimistic about the future, saying that the board is considering all strategic and financial options for the company.
Also, the Group managing director/CEO of Dangote Cement Plc, Michel Puchercos said that despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was a record year for Dangote Cement across board.