Dangote Sugar Refinery pays N18.22b dividends, to produce 170,000 tonnes

Amid harsh operating environment, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc (DSR) has recommended a total dividend pay out of N18.22 billion, while targeting production of over 170,000 tonnes of sugar production next season.

The dividend payout will translate to N1.50 kobo per share due to every shareholder of the company for the 2022 financial year.

Chairman of the company, Aliko Dangote, while addressing shareholders at the company’s yearly general meeting held in Lagos at the weekend, said the firm is poised to ensuring that Nigeria becomes self-sufficient in sugar production in the near future.

“We are not the only players, but we will surely play our part. We should be able to produce over 170,000 tonnes, which are by far, in the history of Nigeria, the highest to be produced locally.”

He said the company recorded a turnover of N403 billion, representing 46 per cent increase over N276 billion achieved in the corresponding period in 2021, while Profit Before Tax (PBT) stood at N82 billion.

He attributed the firm’s improved performance to the pragmatic approach deployed to optimise cost and processes, as well as improve efficiencies in its operations and service delivery to customers.

Dangote pledged that the management would continue to implement strategic actions to sustain the performance with the support of all stakeholders, in addition to complete adherence to the tenets of the Federal Government’s sugar master plan.

According to him, part of the success recorded by the company was made possible by the management’s continued implementation of the Dangote sugar development master plan with the rehabilitation and upgrade of the refinery’s Numan operations, facilities and land development, as well as the development of the Nasarawa Sugar Company Limited, the greenfield sugar project, and Tunga in Nasarawa State.

He said: “Concerted efforts were made during the year to rise above the various challenges that came about owing to the COVID–19 lockdown.”

According to him, the pandemic affected project timelines considerably and had continued to generally impact economic activities due to its spill-over effect, which also led to the lack of forex to finance most of the project deliverables.

“We, however, continued to surge ahead, supported by the various stakeholders in the industry and government parastatal, with the resolve to ensure that the goals of the Nigeria sugar development master plan are achieved.”

The chairman noted that during the year under review, the first phase of the sugar master plan implementation period came to an end and that the Federal government approved the second phase over the next 10 years. “This extension came on the back of the review of the first phase by the National sugar development council and other government parastatal with cognisance of the challenges and several circumstances that were unforeseen, which riddled the first phase of the programme,” he added.

However, he noted that the management focused on the achievement of the goals of the strategic initiative, and thus considerable progress was recorded in the project development, despite the numerous challenges.

He assured that the management would continue to create sustainable value for all stakeholders through an inclusive approach to growth, with continuous engagement with all parties, to enable the company make positive impact, support poverty eradication, infrastructure development, and empowerment for members of the immediate communities, and the society at large.

In her remarks, the Coordinator of the Pragmatic Shareholders Association, Mrs. Adebisi Bakare, expressed the satisfaction of shareholders with the performance of the company, noting that despite all the encumbrances in the sugar sub-sector, the company still performed far and above the previous year.

She urged the board and the management to continue in the right direction, assuring that the management has the support of the shareholders to achieve improved performance in the coming years.