Photo caption: From left, Deputy Company Secretary, Dangote Cement Plc, Edward Imoedemhe; the company’s Chairman, Aliko Dangote; Group Managing Director/CEO, Michel Puchercos; as well as Non-Executive Directors, Olakunle Alake and Halima Aliko-Dangote, at the cement maker’s 13th Annual General Meeting in Lagos on June 14, 2022.
Chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, , Aliko Dangote, on Tuesday, June 14, in Lagos said the company completed the second tranche of its buy-back programme in January this year, following which it has now repurchased 0.98% of its outstanding shares, in what he says reflects an unwavering commitment to creating value and identifying opportunities to return cash to shareholders.
In his review of the group’s performance at the 13th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, the chairman recalled that “over the last decade, Dangote Cement has recorded exponential growth across all areas.”
Group volumes, he continued, are now at almost 30Mta, just as capacity has tripled to 51.6 metric tons per annum, following which cement export is now ongoing from five countries across Africa.
According to him, “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.”
The company, he stressed, “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.
“We are actively deploying our alternative fuel strategy across all countries of operations, to optimise energy efficiency, reduce reliance on fossil fuels and ultimately reduce CO2 emission. Whilst we focused our efforts on meeting the robust demand of our local market in Nigeria, at the expense of our export markets, we still made significant progress in our cement and clinker exports.
“In 2021, we exported seven ships of clinker out of Nigeria and exported cement from five of our operations. Our vision is for West and Central Africa to be cement and clinker self-sufficient, while making the regional and continental free trade agreements a reality.”
Dangote added that along with the company’s focus on strategy, it made progress on the effectiveness and diversity of its board with the appointment of Ms. Halima Aliko-Dangote as a Non-Executive Director effective February 26, 2022, bringing female membership of its board to 27%, from 20% in 2020. This, he continued, is in addition to the six different nationalities and five independent non-executive directors on the board.
He emphasised the continuation of its “sustainability and governance efforts with our 7 Sustainability Pillars – ‘The Dangote Way’. The 7 Pillars: cultural, economic, institutional, financial, environmental, operational and social, provide the appropriate framework in which we have embedded our corporate values and strategic objectives.”
“Our strategy in 2021,” he continued, “focused on energy transition, which is a crucial enabler of sustainable development and climate resilience on the continent. We have increased our focus on alternative fuels in our energy mix. We are actively investing in installing mechanical multi-fuel systems that can process diverse types of wastes.”
The company’s goal in 2022, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Michel Puchercos said is “to be the partner of choice for those transforming Africa, while creating sustainable value for our stakeholders remains firm and clear.
“Despite operating in a challenging and fast-moving environment, Dangote Cement consistently delivers superior profitability to the shareholders. The robust demand experienced across the continent despite the COVID-19 related challenges, confirm the powerful potential of these markets.”
Meanwhile, the shareholders at the meeting commended the company’s management for the impressive performance recorded in the year under review, even as they applauded the company’s efforts to reduce unclaimed dividends.
They unanimously approved the N20 per share dividend payout recommended by the directors for the year ended December 31, 2021, up from the N16 paid in the preceding year, representing 25% increase compared to the N16.00 each paid in the prior year, reinforcing the Company’s commitment to maximising shareholder value.
In the year under review, the company achieved the highest profit before tax in its history at N538.4bn, just also it recorded group volumes of 29.3 metric tons per annum, up 13.8%. Exceptional EBITDA of N684.6bn was achieved, up by 43.2% owing to what the management called strong cost control measures.
