Economy
Dangote Cement Well-positioned For Positive, Sustainable Future—Dangote
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, Mr Aliko Dangote, has reassured shareholders of the company that the cement firm was capable of continuing to deliver value to them for a long time.
Speaking on Tuesday at the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the organisation in Lagos, he said Dangote Cement had weathered the storm, especially in the last two years, breaking new ground.
“Over the last decade, Dangote Cement has recorded exponential growth across all areas.
“Group volumes are now at almost 30Mta, our capacity has tripled to 51.6Mta, and we export cement from five countries across Africa,” he said at the event, where shareholders of Dangote Cement unanimously authorised the management of the company to undertake a share buyback of up to 10 per cent of its issued shares, effective from the date of the resolution.
“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 in 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,” Mr Dangote added.
Business Post reports that the cement maker had earlier indicated an interest in undergoing a share buyback programme, in respect of up to 10 per cent of its issued shares, for the purpose of improving the company’s return on equity and its shareholders’ value so as to facilitate the future long-term growth of the company.
The approval on Tuesday, through voting, recorded 100 per cent approval from the shareholders, with many of them describing the exercise as very laudable and a win-win situation for them.
Among other resolutions, the shareholders authorised that the “Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company be amended (as applicable), upon completion of the share buyback, to reflect the company’s share capital, following the cancellation (if any) of the shares acquired and/or otherwise held by the company.”
The board was also authorised to ensure that the amendment of the Articles of Association of the company reflects the company’s share capital following the cancellation (if any) of the shares acquired and/or otherwise held by the company.
It would be recalled that the shareholders, at the company’s recent 13th Annual General Meeting (AGM), also commended the company’s management for an impressive performance despite the economic challenges in the year under review.
Unanimously, they approved N20 per share for the year ended December 31, 2021, as against the N16 paid in the preceding year, representing a 25 per cent increase in dividend compared with the 2020 dividend of N16.00 per share, reinforcing the company’s commitment to maximising shareholder value. They also applauded the company for its drive to reduce unclaimed dividends of the company.
Dangote Cement, in the year under review, achieved its highest profit before tax in its history at N538.4 billion. Also, the Company recorded Group volumes of 29.3Mta, up 13.8 per cent. Exceptional EBITDA of N684.6 billion was achieved, up by 43.2 per cent, owing to strong cost control measures.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
