Dangote Declares N491.7bn Revenue for the Year 2015. Urges Goverment to Invest in Infratructure

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Dangote Cement, declared a revenue of N491.7 for the fiscal year ended in December 2015. Stating N8 dividend on shares, he revealed that the expansion to African countries like Zambia, Ethiopia, Senegal and more helped increase the company’s sales volume by 35% from 14.0 Mt in 2014 to 18.9 Mt.

“The new factories that we opened in Senegal, Cameroon, Ethiopia and Zambia made their first contributions to the business in 2015 and as result our volumes rose by 35 per cent to 18.9 Mt, driving group revenues up 25.6 percent to N491.7 billion as against N391.6 billion recorded in 2014.”

The business tycoon also spoke on the subject of infrastructural development enjoining the federal government to invest particularly in housing because of the exponential increase in population growth on the continent. Going by World Bank statistics which estimates that Africa needs a yearly investment of $38 billion on new infrastructure in power, roads, transport and water and spend a further $37 billion on operations and maintenance, a total of $75 billion a year. However, it estimates that there is a funding shortfall of $35billion a year right now,

“Africa is rapidly growing. The United Nations estimates that its population will rise from about one billion today to 2.4 billion by 2050, with the urbanised population rising from 400 million to 1.4 billion; that is more than four times the current population of the United States. To support this growth, countries must invest in infrastructure and housing.”

According to Punch, Dangote stressed that Dangote Cement took advantage of the market opportunities available in African countries provided despite the harsh economic terrain of 2015.

“While 2015 was a period of transformation for Dangote Cement, against a challenging economic backdrop, the fact is that we achieved something even more remarkable than our rapid and successful expansion across the continent.”

In 2015, the richest man in Africa, spoke on the growth of the group saying the profit before Tax grew by 2.0 per cent from N184.7 billion to N188.3 billion; Cash flow from operations grew by 39.1 per cent from N215.3 billion to N299.5 billion, while return on capital employed reduced from 23.9 % to 24.1%.

There is no denying the need for infrastructural development and government’s investment in these sectors is sure to increase sales for Dangote Cement especially with the current #BuyNigerian campaign.

Source: Vanguard