Shareholders of Dangote Cement, unanimously on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, authorised the Management of the company to undertake a share buyback of up to 10 percent of its issued shares, effective from the date of the resolution.

The company had earlier indicated an interest in undergoing a share buyback programme, in respect of up to 10 percent 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 through voting, which was given at the company’s Extraordinary General Meeting, held in Lagos recorded a 100 percent 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 Management of the company 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. That represented a 25 per cent increase in dividend compared to 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 in reducing 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 percent owing to strong cost control measures.

Chairman of the company, Aliko Dangote, said that “Over the last decade, Dangote Cement has recorded exponential growth across all areas.” According to him, “Group volumes are now at almost 30Mta, our capacity has tripled to 51.6Mta and we export cement from five countries across Africa.”

“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,” Dangote added.

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Dangote Cement has launched a circular economy programme, called “DangCircular”. The new initiative aims to promote recycling and reuse of scarce resources in society to reduce landfilling and create wealth as a contribution to environmental sustainability.

DangCircular was rolled out during this year’s Dangote Sustainability Week, targeting students of Nigerian higher institutions. The company partnered with the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, and UNESCO-UNEVOC (UNESCO International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training) in a competition tagged ‘Yaba Green Challenge’.

Dangote employee Volunteers and Executives graced the finale of the competition to witness the presentation of 10 sustainability innovations the students created from waste after a screening of over 30 entries.

Among the panel of judges were the academic staff of Yabatech, officials, and UNESCO UNEVOC, as well Dangote Cement Technical Director Mr. Duraisamy Anandam and General Manager Regional Sales, Mr. Johnson Olaniyi. The judges engaged finalists on their projects which include: 1) Mixed media painting from sawdust 2) Fungal growth medium from industrial wheat waste 3) Medicinal mushrooms from sawdust and water hyacinth. Others were mycelia blocks from spent mushroom substrate, 

Wearable art from the aluminum beverage can pull tab wastes, and sculpture from metal scraps. The students also made a paving interlocking block project with plastics, Hollow sandcrete blocks from plastics, and a mixed media painting made with waste plastics and paper, as well as animal feed produced from water hyacinth.

The event began with a tour of the Yabatech art museum, a courtesy visit to the College Rector, and a donation of waste segregation bins made to the management of the school. At the finale of the Yaba Green Challenge competition which had over 300 staff and students, the Rector of the College Engr Obafemi Omokungbe endorsed the initiative, describing the partnership between Yabatech and Dangote as a very strategic and exciting one. He stated that “talks are ongoing to obtain patent rights for the innovations showcased at the event to share with the private sector for adoption”.

Leading the Dangote delegation was General Manager Sustainability, Dr. Igazeuma Okoroba expressed satisfaction at the exhibition. In her remarks, she stated that “the goal of DangCircular was to spur Nigeria’s transition to a circular economy and support wealth creation through waste.” She also encouraged the institution to carry out cutting-edge research for the economic growth of society.

The winner of the grand prize of the competition was Ms. Ajide Comfort of the Fashion Design Department. In a very emotional reaction, Ms. Comfort whose project was Wearable art from an aluminum beverage can pull-tab waste, expressed her gratitude to Dangote Cement and pledged to continue finding ways to integrate waste recycling in her designs.

In the same vein, the company implemented “The Obalende Smart Money Campaign”, a financial literacy awareness campaign, to help over 300 traders of the Obada Obalende market to gain insight into managing money and limited resources sustainably. The initiative was part of activities to mark Sustainability Week in Nigeria and Pan Africa.

Speaking on the financial literacy campaign, the Lead, Health, and Safety Mr. James Adenuga said the theme of the yearly programme: ‘People, Planet and Profit – The Dangote Way’ is driven by employee volunteers. In his remarks, he explained to the traders the meaning of sustainable development and why it was a topic of concern for traders. Sighting examples with relatable stories, the Head of Sustainability, Dr. Okoroba explained that “While seeking for their daily bread, it was important that the traders ensure that the needs of the present and future generations are not threatened by poor treatment of land, water, and natural resources available to us”.

Diversity and inclusion were other aspects Dangote Cement sought to make an impact on society during Sustainability Week as the Dangote volunteers engaged in a charity outreach targeting the Down syndrome community and the visually impaired. The campaign for the visually impaired was to commemorate White Cane Safety day, an annual event celebrated worldwide every 15^th of October.

The Dangote volunteers visited the Women and Children with Disability Initiative (WCWDI) home for visually impaired children, interacting with the children. The company made donations of food items, beverages, and specialized educational materials for the blind including white canes, slates, and marbouqs. Following this, the team of volunteers conducted a sensitization walk of the neighbouring community to enlighten residents on the white cane as a right of passage for the visually impaired which should be respected.

In another outreach to the Down Syndrome Foundation Nigeria (DSFN) located at Iju Fagba, Lagos, the Volunteers toured the vocational centres where persons with Down syndrome were trained in life skills. The National President of the Downs syndrome Association, Mrs. Rose Mordi, noted that ‘Down syndrome is not a disease but a condition which can happen to anyone”. She also gave insight on the theme of Down Syndrome Awareness Month – “Nothing About Us Without Us”, acknowledging Dangote’s support and calling for other private sectors to follow in the same vein.

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For the third quarter of 2022, the Management of Dangote Cement has recorded an increase in the overall volume of cement sales by 6.2 percent to 20.8metric tons. This was achieved despite the elevated inflation that is due to a very volatile global environment.

To further increase the supply of cement across its operational base, the company has also commissioned its power plant at Okpella and is progressing well to deploy grinding plants in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.

Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Cement, Michel Puchercos, who disclosed this while presenting the third quarter results to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, over the weekend, further explained that “To mitigate the impact of the significant increase in energy and AGO costs, we are strengthening our efforts to ramp up the usage of alternative fuels. So far this year, we have co-processed 101,553 tonnes of waste representing a 77% increase over 9M 2021. We are on track to commission our Alternative Fuel feed system at Obajana lines I and V, and Ibese line II in November. In addition, we are ramping up our investment in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), to reduce our AGO usage”

To that end, he explained that the company recorded an increase in revenue of ₦1,177.3B, up 15.2% compared to last year, and Group EBITDA of ₦515.9B, up 0.2% with an EBITDA margin of 43.8%”

Dangote Cement, it would be recalled is Africa’s leading cement producer with nearly 51.6Mta capacity across Africa. A fully integrated quarry-to-customer producer, it has a production capacity of 35.25Mta in its home market, Nigeria. 

Obajana plant in Kogi state, Nigeria, is the largest in Africa with 16.25Mta of capacity across five lines while the Ibese plant in Ogun State has four cement lines with a combined installed capacity of 12Mta.  The Gboko plant in Benue state has 4Mta while the Okpella plant in Edo state has 3Mta. 

Through recent investments, Dangote Cement has eliminated Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement and has transformed the nation into an exporter of cement serving neighbouring countries. 

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