For the first time since its inception, Dangote Cement Group’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization reached an all-time milestone of N1,382.0 billion, crossing the N1 trillion mark, an increase of 56 per cent.

In the same vein, Earnings per share also increased by 12.3 per cent to N29.74 as against 2023’s record of N26.47. Unanimously, the shareholders approved a dividend payout of N30 per share to all investors, totaling N502.6 billion.

Chairman of the company, Aliko Dangote, while presenting the reports to the shareholders, said the company recorded a N3,580.6 billion revenue, representing a 62.2 per cent yearon-year growth, and that the performance was driven by effective pricing strategies and strong demand recovery in key markets, particularly Nigeria.

The shareholders expressed their full praise for the Board, Management, and staff for the dividend, noting that the decision was in the best interest of the shareholders. In the same vein, the company also significantly increased its corporate social responsibility (CSR) by 469.8 per cent to N13.2 billion.

The CSR activities were in education, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, and economic empowerment. Commenting on the performance of the company, the President of the Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), Faruk Umar, said the shareholders were pleased with Aliko Dangote and his team.

He said, for the company to still pay a robust dividend despite the obvious economic challenges, which also affected their operations, shows the doggedness and fighting entrepreneurial spirit of the management.

According to him, “we are happy with this result. 2024 was very challenging due to the fluctuations in the foreign exchange market and the company’s expansion programme.

But despite all these challenges, the company was still able to pay us a very good dividend and even gave us hope of better returns on our investments in the years to come. This is very commendable, and it is only a company like Dangote Cement that can achieve this laudable feat.”