The Board of Directors of Lafarge Africa has proposed a dividend of N1.90 per unit of its shares for the year ended December 2023 amounting to N30.60bn.
This was lower than the N32.22bn dividend it paid in the previous year.
In a corporate notice filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Thursday, the proposed dividend will first have to be approved by shareholders at the next Annual General Meeting of the company.
“A final dividend of 190 kobo per unit of 50 Kobo ordinary share, payable from the Pioneer Reserve, will be paid to shareholders whose names are in the register of members as at the close of business on Thursday, 28th March 2024,” part of the notice stated.
Meanwhile, in its financial statement for the year ended December 2023, the cement manufacturer revealed that its revenue went up by about 8.6 per cent to N405bn from N373bn in the previous year.
However, post-tax profit dipped by 4.7 per cent to N51.14bn impacted by the devaluation of the naira.
Also, the company recorded a higher effective tax rate last year following the expiry of the Pioneer Status Incentive in 2022.
Commenting on the results, the Chief Executive Officer of Lafarge Africa, Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, said, “The fundamentals of our business remain strong. In spite of extremely challenging macroeconomic headwinds, we grew the top line by 8.6 per cent and improved the operating margin from 22.6 per cent to 25.3 per cent in FY 2023.
“In the face of very material FX devaluation losses and higher effective tax rate, profit after tax declined YoY by 4.7 per cent. Our performance was largely impacted by spiralling inflation and unprecedented naira devaluation, with the attendant pressure on energy and supply chain costs.
“Despite these challenges, we continue to maintain a strong free cash flow position and a strong balance sheet, positioning us for sustainable growth over the medium to long term. We are committed to delivering sustainable value to all stakeholders in the coming years, as we have done historically. I would like to thank all employees and stakeholders of Lafarge Africa for their commitment over the years.”
The company maintained a positive outlook for the year 2024, saying, “The Nigerian infrastructure and construction sector is expected to continue growing despite inflationary pressure and currency depreciation affecting the economy.
As a result, we maintain our positive outlook, expecting increased demand in 2024 as the economy picks up.
“We will continue to maximise volume opportunities across our markets and actively manage our costs. The company remains committed to its sustainability ambitions and strategy of ‘Accelerating Green Growth’ through innovative building solutions and delivering stakeholder value.”
The issued and fully paid-up Share Capital of the Company as of December 31, 2023, was 16,107,795,721 ordinary shares of 50kobo each (31 December 2022: 16,107,795,721 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each).
Two companies: Associated International Cement Limited (AIC UK) and CariCement BV, each held more than 5 per cent of the company’s issued share capital.
Holcim Limited is an international investor holding its shares in the names of its subsidiaries: AIC UK (27.77 per cent ) and CariCement BV (56.04 per cent ).
The total shareholding of Holcim Limited in the company was 83.81 per cent as of December 31, 2023.
The remaining 16.19 per cent of the issued shares were held by other individuals and institutions.
