The Board of BUA Cement Plc has approved the disbursement of total dividends worth N70 billion representing N2.067 per share for the 2020 financial year.
The decision is part of the resolutions reached at the recently concluded Annual General Meeting of the company, held on the 8th of July, 2021.
Hence, the total dividend will be paid on all the outstanding 33,415,276,729 ordinary shares of the company to shareholders whose names appear on the register of members by close of business by Friday, June 18, 2021.
Upon approval of the dividend, e-payments or dividend warrants will be paid on Thursday, July 8th 2021.
READ: Cement price hike: No plans to increase price – BUA
During the meeting, the Chairman, Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu commented on issues raised by respective shareholders with regards to the new production plants, short supply of products and Increase in management expenses.
In response to the raised issues, the Chairman announced that the Line 3, Sokoto plant currently under construction with 3 million tonnes capacity will be commissioned later in the year while other lines in Sokoto, Edo and Adawama will be commissioned in 2022/2023.
He further stated that the increase in management expenses is as a result of business expansion, and in his words, perfectly normal as the business grows.
Also, he enjoined individuals and companies with capacity to participate in the cement market to ramp up production to increase the availability of cement in the country. He further explained that the demand very much outweighs supply which the 3 cement producing companies cannot keep up with, hence, the need for interested parties with capacities to invest in the cement production.
READ: BUA reveals how cement prices can crash in Nigeria
He announced that in an effort to meet up with cement demand in the country as much as possible, the company has stopped the exportation of their products.
He admitted the high price of cement in the country and attributed this to insufficient supply to meet demand. He said, “Nigeria needs a lot more cement than what we produce. Cement production in Nigeria is still under 30 million tonnes per annum and the population is about 210 million people which is a challenge and the only solution is to ramp up production for more cement in the country.”
Other decisions reached at the AGM of the company are;
- Election of Executive Director
- Three (3) retiring Directors were re-elected into the Board of the company.
- The remuneration of the External Auditors was fixed to the tune of $300,000 convertible at the prevailing exchange rate.
- Election of three (3) members of the Audit Committee.
- Disclosure of the remuneration of the Managers of the Company.
- Remuneration of Directors was fixed at N5 million naira for the Chairman of the Board and N4 million naira for Non-Executive Directors.
READ: BUA Cement pays N129 billion in dividend in 2 years
What you should know:
- BUA Cement Plc had earlier reported a profit after tax of N22.37 billion in Q1 2021, indicating an increase of 13.04% when compared with the amount declared in the corresponding period of 2020.