Shareholders of Dangote Cement, unanimously on Tuesday authorized 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 program, 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 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 authorized 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 authorized 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 percent increase in dividend compared to the 2020 dividend of N16.00 per share, reinforcing the Company’s commitment to maximizing 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 percent. 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.
This is indeed another sad day for the growth of capital market in Nigeria. What is unanimous when one shareholder owns over 70perxent of the company. Why won’t it be unanimous?
I remember when Dangote entered the capital market with all the packaging Okereke-onyiuke did for him and many other so called billionaires today. What did they do to the woman. They exposed her and hurriedly pushed her out.
Today Dangote us buying back shares of those that supported his business when he was not up there.and we are proclaiming unanimous. It is just a pity. So he has now finished using them hence he can pay them back their money. Why can’t he reduce the holdings of DIL in the business if he wants to buy back?
The middle class they tried to use the capital market to establish had been lost and if we are not careful the loss might be permanent. In essence, you are either poor or rich in Nigeria. The in-between are those one japaing and they are not available for the country and they may never return.
I think.SEC should look at the possibility of specifying a minimum number of years before an issuer can undertake share buy back. The literatures that said an investor must hold a stock for at least 10 years to realise capital gains is not stupid. So an issuer doing buy back after less than 10 years and forcing an investor to sell before the 10 years is short changing the investor.
It is common knowledge in the economy that we run a cash and carry system. Dangote gas manipulated the system to the extent that it is now hurting. Enough is enough