Key Factors
- Africa’s richest man is doubling Ethiopian cement capability to five million tonnes, strengthening Dangote Cement’s market dominance regardless of previous challenges.
- Dangote Cement’s income hit $1.56 billion in 9 months, pushed by pan-African operations and forex positive factors from naira devaluation.
- Dangote eyes Ethiopian sugar and urea tasks, leveraging experience from Nigeria’s sugar trade to increase enterprise within the East African nation.
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has unveiled a $400 million plan to increase his cement empire, aiming to revive a second manufacturing line on the Mugher cement plant in Ethiopia. The transfer is anticipated to double the power’s annual capability to five million tonnes, strengthening Dangote Cement Plc’s place as Africa’s main cement producer.
Dangote Cement’s Ethiopian plant, which started operations in 2015, has confronted vital challenges over time, together with safety issues and violent protests. In 2018, the corporate’s nation supervisor and two different staff had been killed, whereas protesters vandalized autos and equipment. Regardless of these setbacks, Dangote is pushing forward with plans to scale operations by putting in a brand new greenfield grinding unit close to Addis Ababa. As soon as accomplished, this can improve the Mugher plant’s output from 2.5 million tonnes to five million tonnes per yr.
Gross sales on the present Mugher plant stood at 1.7 million tonnes in the first nine months of the 2024 fiscal year, marking a 6.3 % decline from the earlier yr attributable to renewed safety issues and restricted entry to imported coal from South Africa. Ethiopia’s complete cement market throughout this era was estimated at round 5.5 million tonnes.
Dangote plans Ethiopian sugar, urea investments
Chatting with journalists on Saturday, Feb. 15, Dangote, the chairman of Dangote Group, mentioned the corporate can also be trying to spend money on Ethiopia’s sugar trade. He highlighted plans to leverage the group’s expertise in managing a 60,000-hectare sugar plantation in Nigeria to reinforce operations at Omo Kuraz Sugar Firm in Ethiopia. Moreover, he famous that when Ethiopia develops its pure fuel reserves, Dangote Group will contemplate establishing a urea manufacturing plant to help the nation’s agricultural sector.
With a internet price of $28.2 billion, in accordance with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Dangote stays Africa’s wealthiest particular person and ranks 66th globally. He praised Ethiopia’s enhancing funding local weather and reaffirmed his dedication to increasing enterprise within the nation. “Ethiopia stays certainly one of our greatest funding locations. Africa might be developed by Africans. Our political leaders have to strengthen the African Union, and we, as enterprise leaders, should complement their efforts by deepening industrial linkages throughout the continent,” he mentioned.
Dangote Cement sees sturdy income progress
Dangote Cement, which is 86 % owned by Dangote, continues to play a important position in regional commerce, exporting cement and clinker throughout key markets. The corporate has been instrumental in remodeling Nigeria from a cement importer to a serious exporter inside Sub-Saharan Africa. It at present operates in 10 international locations with an annual manufacturing capability of 52 million tonnes.
Within the first 9 months of 2024, Dangote Cement reported a 69 percent jump in revenue, rising to N2.56 trillion ($1.56 billion) from N1.51 trillion ($919.1 million) in the identical interval of 2023. The sturdy efficiency was largely pushed by its pan-African operations, which benefited from forex translation positive factors following the naira’s devaluation in opposition to the U.S. greenback.
Regardless of rising working and finance prices—finance bills surged to N451.2 billion ($274.7 million)—the corporate managed to submit a slight improve in revenue. Internet revenue for the interval stood at N279.1 billion ($170 million), up from N277.5 billion ($168.9 million) in 2023. Whole assets grew from N3.94 trillion ($2.4 billion) as of Dec. 31, 2023, to N5.54 trillion ($3.37 billion) by Sept. 30, 2024. Nevertheless, retained earnings dipped from N1.098 trillion ($667.5 million) to N846.1 billion ($514.4 million), reflecting dividend funds on the finish of the 2023 fiscal yr.
