Economy
Dangote Cement to Raise Installed Capacity to 66.4Mta by 2030
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
In order to make Africa self-sufficient in cement and clinker, Dangote Cement Plc is planning to increase its installed capacity to 66.4 million metric tonnes per annum (Mta) by 2030 from its current about 52 Mta.
The chief executive of the cement maker, Mr Arvind Pathak, disclosed this on Wednesday at the Facts Behind the Figure presentation held at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited after the close of trading on Customs Street.
He said the decision to raise the production capacity of the organisation was to continue to deliver value to investors, as the chairman of the firm, Mr Emmanuel Ikazoboh, noted that over N3.3 billion has been given to shareholders in dividends in the last 15 years.
According to him, aside from this impressive dividend payout, the shareholders have also significantly benefited from the capital appreciation of the cement stock.
“To our investors, you have my unwavering commitment to safeguarding and growing your investment. To our regulators and market operators, you have my pledge of continued partnership and adherence to governance standards that lead rather than follow. To our employees and partners, you have my gratitude and my assurance that our collective strength will propel us to achievements we haven’t yet imagined,” Mr Ikazoboh stated.
As for Mr Pathak, he revealed that, “We aim to expand installed capacity to 66.4Mta by 2030, supporting our long-term vision of making Africa self-sufficient in cement and clinker production. This growth will be driven by a mix of greenfield and brownfield projects.”
He disclosed that Dangote Cement has commissioned the first phase (1.5Mta) of its 3Mta Côte d’Ivoire plant, while construction of the 6Mta integrated Itori Plant continues to advance steadily. In addition, the company, according to him, has announced a $400 million investment to double its production capacity in Ethiopia.
“Over the past 15 years, DCP has committed more than $8.5 billion in capital investments across Africa, underscoring our long-term confidence in the region’s growth prospects,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, the chairman of the NGX Group Plc, Mr Umaru Kwairanga, praised the chief executive of Dangote Group, Mr Aliko Dangote, for his substantial contributions to the Nigerian capital market and private sector development.
He said the former chairman of Dangote Cement, who is also his mentor, has clearly shown that wealth can be created but also transferred to the public through the capital market.
On his part, the chief executive of NGX Group, Mr Temi Popoola, lauded the new management and board of Dangote Cement, noting that with Mr Ikazoboh as the chairman, the shareholders will surely be happy.
It would be recalled that the shareholders of the company, in its last Annual General Meeting (AGM), for the year 2024, were full of praise for the Board, Management, and staff of the company after approving a dividend payout of N502.6 billion, which translated to N30 kobo per share.
The company, in the same vein, also significantly increased its social investments by 469.8 per cent to N3.2 billion. The corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities were in education, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, and economic empowerment.
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 that for the company to still pay a robust dividend despite the obvious economic challenges, which also affected their operations, shows the doggedness and fighting entrepreneurial spirit of the Management.
According to him, “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, 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 active 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 N30 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.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira marginally depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 4 amid renewed forex pressure associated with December.
At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 0.01 per cent or 18 Kobo against the Dollar to close at N1,447.83/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.65/$1.
It was not a different scenario with the local currency in the same market segment against the Pound Sterling as it further shed N15.43 to sell for N1,930.97/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,925.08/£1 and declined against the Euro by 20 Kobo to finish at N1,688.74/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,688.54/€1.
Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback in the black market to quote at N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,460/$1 but closed flat against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter at N1,453/$1.
Fluctuations in trading range is expected to continue during the festive season as traders expect the Nigerian currency to be stable, supported by intervention s by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in the face of steady dollar demand.
Support is also expected in coming weeks as seasonal activities, particularly the stylised “Detty December” festivities, will see inflows that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month, according to a new report.
“As the festive Detty December season intensifies, inbound travel, tourism spending, and diaspora inflows are expected to provide moderate support for FX liquidity,” analysts at the research unit of FMDA said in its latest monthly report for November.
Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.
Meanwhile, the crypto market was down as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, likely rose in September—moving in the wrong direction. However, volatility indices show no signs of major turbulence.
If the actual figure matches estimates, it would mark 55 straight months of inflation above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. The sticky inflation would strengthen the hawkish policymakers, who are in favour of slower rate cuts.
Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to $2.08, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.8 per cent to $138.11, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.1 per cent to $83.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.1463, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.1 per cent to $0.4368, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.9 per cent to $91,975.45, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 0.9 per cent to $899.41, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $3,156.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
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