The Dangote Sugar Refinery says its target is to produce about two million tonnes of sugar per annum from locally grown sugar cane within the next 10 years.
The company’s Chairman, Aliko Dangote, who made the disclosure at the company’s 8th Annual General Meeting on Friday in Lagos, said that due to the Federal Government’s National Sugar Master Plan, the company had begun its own development plan.
“This plan is targeted at the production of 1.5 million to 2 million tonnes of sugar per annum from locally grown sugar cane within the next five to 10 years,” Dangote said.
He said that the plan was to consolidate the company’s position as the largest sugar producer in West Africa, adding that the company’s sugar development plan had been structured to include an increased focus on backward integration project.
“As we commence this journey, our priority remains to consolidate our clear leadership of the sugar industry in Nigeria. We will work to ensure ongoing operational efficiency to drive continued growth across our markets,” he said.
Graham Clark, the Group Managing Director of the firm, said the company had acquired some 200,000 hectares of land across Nigeria to meet the development plan.
Clark said the land would be used for the development of sugar cane plantations and construction of modern sugar processing factories.
The shareholders lauded the company for the positive performance for the N7.2 billion declared for 2013.
Bisi Bakare, National Coordinator, Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria, commended the company for the result in spite of the hash business environment.
Bakare, however, called on the company to map out strategies aimed at reducing the unclaimed dividend figure of N423 million as at Dec. 31, 2013.
She said that the company should work closely with the registrar to ensure reduction in the figure to the barest minimum.
The company recorded a turnover of N102.47 billion for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2013 as against N106.87 billion in 2012.
However, profit before tax rose from N16.33 billion in 2012 to N20.09 billion in 2013, while profit after tax grew from N10.79 billion to N13.54 billion.
The directors recommended a dividend of N7.2 billion which translated to 60k per share, the proposal was unanimously approved by the shareholders.
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