Despite the disruptions that it experienced in 2022, Dangote Cement Plc, a leading cement company majority owned by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, delivered a remarkably robust financial performance at the end of its 2022 fiscal year.
The group reported a 4.9-percent increase in profits from N364.44 billion to N382.31 billion ($830.3 million) due to higher revenue and the successful negotiation of its tax expense down to N142.7 billion ($310 million) from the N173.9 billion ($377.7 million) they paid the previous year.
During the period under review, the Dangote-led cement company reported a 17-percent increase in revenue from a record of N1.38 trillion ($3 billion) recorded in 2021 to a new all-time high of N1.62 trillion ($3.52 billion), thanks to higher cement sales in the second half of 2022 and pricing benefits from the rise in the price of cement during the year.
Had it not been for its pan-African operations in 2022, which posted a loss of N111.5 billion ($242.2 million), up from a loss of N30.58 billion ($66.4 million) in 2021, Dangote Cement would have achieved an all-time high profit of N506.3 billion ($1.1 billion) at the end of 2022.
Thanks to its impressive financial performance, the group’s total assets increased from N2.39 trillion ($5.2 billion) to N2.61 trillion ($5.66 billion), while its retained earnings increased from N868.27 billion ($1.88 billion) to N969.48 billion ($2.1 billion).
In light of this, the board, helmed by Africa’s wealthiest man, recommended a dividend of N20 ($0.0434) per share, which is the same as the dividend paid to shareholders in 2022, as part of its dividend policy that reflects the company’s earnings and cash flow while maintaining appropriate levels of dividend cover.
The board believes that the proposed dividend is appropriate and is in line with the group’s strategic growth objectives.
