Dangote Cement Plc has announced the commencement of the Tranche I shares buyback programme.
This was revealed in the company’s disclosure sent to Nigeria Exchange Limited which was made available to Nairametrics.
The Tranche I share back program entails that up to 168,735,593 fully paid-up ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each, representing 1% of the entire current issued shares will be repurchased.
The programme is scheduled to commence on the 17th of July 2023 and its duration is only for two days to be completed on the 18th of July 2023 or whenever the entire tranche size has been purchased.
It is important to note that the purchase of the shares will take place in the open market at the NGX throughout the programme.
The company also noted that the shares being bought back by the Company under the Share Buy-Back Programme will be held as treasury shares, as permissible under CAMA. Execution of this Tranche I is not expected to have any material impact on the Company’s financial position.
Shareholders of Dangote Cement seeking to participate in Tranche I of the Share Buy-Back Programme are advised to contact their stockbrokers or any other independent professional adviser registered as a capital market operator by the SEC for further guidance on the submission of trades on the NGX’s trading platform.
Backstory
Recall that Nairametrics reported that The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had approved the establishment of a new share buy-back programme for Dangote Cement Plc.
According to the corporate disclosure, the programme will expire on 12 December 2023, 12 months from the date of the shareholders’ resolution.
The share buyback programme will be executed under the approval granted by the company’s shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting held on 13 December 2022.
Dangote Cement Plc ran its most recent share buyback programme (Tranche 1) in January 2022 where the company repurchased a total of 170,003,074 fully paid-up ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each, representing 1% of the currently issued shares.
The programme lasted for two trading days, commencing on 19th January 2022, and was completed on 20th January 2022.
What you should know
A share repurchase reduces the total assets of the business so that its return on assets, return on equity, and other metrics improve when compared to not repurchasing shares.
Reducing the number of shares means earnings per share (EPS) can grow more quickly as revenue and cash flow increase.
One of the reasons for the share buyback is to increase long-term shareholder value. Also, the exercise is expected to support the cement manufacturer’s continuous capital structure and balance sheet optimization process.
This means that repurchasing shares while improving financing and balance sheets efficiency is expected to reduce the cost of capital and enhance investors’ value.