Alhaji Aliko Dangote Dangote who is the Chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, has disclosed that arrangements are in top gear for thousands of the company’s delivery trucks to run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in line with the Federal Government agenda on the adoption of alternative fuel for official vehicles.
Dangote informed shareholders at the 15th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the cement company in Lagos that the decision to invest in the coal mining industry was in line with the Federal Government’s efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. This move aims to enhance the nation’s energy independence and contribute to a more secure energy future.
“We are now going to start using CNG vehicles, especially with the new policy of the Federal Government, launched by the Renewed Hope Agenda by His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu. By the end of next year, all our trucks that are operating in the company will be running on CNG, and that is a whole lot of money that we are going to invest. But we are equal to the task, and we will continue to push and make sure that we continue to make our shareholders happy,” Dangote said.
Dangote also announced an increase of 50 per cent on dividend payout to the shareholders, from N20.00 per share paid in the 2022 financial year to N30.00 for the last financial year 2023.
Dangote told shareholders that the company’s efforts at ramping up production with the ongoing construction of a new plant of 6 million metric tons per annum at Itori, in Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State, noting that despite the hiccups at the Apapa Port in Lagos, the plant would be completed to time.
Dangote said the company’s impressive performance was in fulfillment of the promise he made of an enhanced Return on Investments (RoI) to shareholders and other stakeholders in Dangote Cement, assuring that the following year would even be better.
He expressed satisfaction that Dangote Cement achieved double-digit growth in revenue of N2,208.1billion, while Group Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) reached a record high of ₦886.1 billion, increasing by 25.1per cent.
He said: “This outstanding EBITDA performance was underpinned by our robust cost control measures and our diverse pan-Africa operations. The latter acted as a cushion, providing resilience to country-specific risks, while the former enhanced our overall profitability. Our pan-Africa operations now contribute 41.2per cent to the Group’s overall volumes.
“We made significant strides in our expansion initiatives, with the successful launch of operations at our 0.45Mta grinding plant in Ghana, increasing our total installed capacity to 52.0Mta. Furthermore, our 1.5Mta grinding plant in Côte d’Ivoire is making substantial progress and is nearing completion. Lastly, we have commenced construction on our 6Mta Itori plant in Ogun State, a crucial step in supporting our ambitious export goals.”
The 2023 results showed that cement manufacturer recorded improvement in all performance measurement indicators with group revenue rising by 36.4 per cent to ₦2,208.1 billion while Profit after tax (PAT) was up by 19.2 per cent to ₦455.6 billion. Earnings per share went up by 18.8 per cent at ₦26.47. Dangote Cement is garnering more market share across the continent with pan-Africa volumes going up by 12.7 per cent to 11.3Mt.
Group Managing Director of Dangote Cement Plc, Arvind Pathak said 2023 was yet another testament to the effectiveness of the management’s diversification strategy, despite the challenging macroeconomic conditions.
He said: “Our diverse operations acted as a cushion, providing resilience to country-specific risks. Pan-African volumes were up 12.7 per cent and now account for 41.2 per cent of Group volume. Consequently, pan-African revenue increased by a record 123.2 per cent to ₦925.9 billion, while EBITDA surged by over four-fold to ₦263.7 billion.”
Alluding to what Dangote said on use of CNG as an alternative fuel for its cement trucks, Pathak noted that in response to the heightened inflationary environment, “we implemented new and innovative business strategies that helped to drive up revenues, contain costs, and protect margins. These initiatives included fuel mix optimisation, propelling the use of alternative fuels to replace more expensive fossil fuels. We also began the phased transition from diesel power trucks to full Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks.”
Shareholders one after another were full of praise for the board and management of the Company for the impressive outing in 2023, which accounted for the dividend payout of N30 per share; an increase of 50 per cent over the 2022 dividend despite the economic headwind that characterised 2023.
Chairperson of the Pragmatic Shareholders Association, Mrs. Bisi Bakare, lauded the management of Dangote Cement for what she described as a huge dividend payout even when many other companies could not pay their shareholders a dime because they declared losses.