BY PETER EGWUATU

Dangote Cement  Plc  has declared  a total dividend payout of N65.84 billion in the financial year ended December 2010, representing  4.25 kobo per share.

The dividend comprises an interim dividend of N2 per share which translated to N30.98 billion paid in the period ended September 2010 and final dividend of N2.25 per share or N34.86 billion announced for the financial year ended December 2010. The interim and final dividends are part of the group’s strategies of enhancing and growing shareholders’ value through consistent dividend payment.

According to the results sent to the  council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE),  a turnover of N202.565 billion was recorded for the  period under review as against N189.6 billion recorded for the preceding year.

The company’s profit before tax rose by 58.9 per cent to N101.33 billion from the corresponding  year’s N63.8 billion, profit after tax rose by 73.7 per cent to N106.6 billion from N61.4 billion in 2009.

Speaking, President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote assured the shareholders of good returns on their investments, stating that the significant contributions of the new line in Obajana and commencement of production of six million metric tons in Ibeshe plant later this year, will positively affect the company’s turnover and ultimately returns on shareholders investments.

Special Adviser to the President Dangote Grou, Eng. Joseph Makoju speaking on the result said “this impressive result for 2010 financial year when viewed against the background of the relatively stable environment of 2010 is not unexpected as the supply and cost of major input of cement manufacture such as natural gas, LPFO and diesel were relatively stable.”

He commended The Federal Government for improved environment in the Niger Delta-the major source of energy driving the nation’s industrial sector adding that in the face of competition from cheap but low quality imports/products being dumped in our markets, “Nigerian manufacturers need predictable, stable and realistically priced supply of gas, fuel oil and diesel to keep their energy cost low and ultimately the end-product pricing competitive.”

Dangote Cement Plc is currently the biggest quoted company in West Africa. The latest ranking of Africa’s Top 50 Companies released by IC Publications, publishers of London-based African Business magazine, recently, indicated that Dangote Cement had a total market value of $12.2 billion, as at mid-March 2011, making it the largest company in the entire West African sub-region.

This confirmed an earlier report by Stakes 55, an international rating agency, which ranked Dangote Cement as the top quoted company in Nigeria out of a list of 55 companies, late last year.

African Business further noted that Dangote Cement, a new entrant on the list, towered above Anglogold Ashanti of Ghana and Nigerian Breweries Plc, which placed second and third with market values of $6.0billion and $3.8billion, respectively, while Zenith Bank Plc, with market value of $3.1billion was rated the fourth biggest company in West Africa. First Bank of Nigeria Plc came fifth with $2.9billion.