Dangote To Receive N146.5 Billion From Dangote Cement On April 29, 2024
The next question is this:
Why is Dangote Cement paying 146.55 billion naira to its chairman?
Walk with me as we discuss corporate governance this morning.
Aliko Dangote founded what is now known as Dangote Cement decades ago.
The company has cement plants in Gboko (Benue State), Obajana( Kogi State), Itori, and Ibese (Ogun State).
But beyond these four factories in Nigeria,
Dangote Cement has cement plants in 10 African countries.
Dangote Cement is the biggest cement company in Nigeria by size and volume.
No other cement company in Nigeria comes close.
This is why, when the BUA cement chairman promised to crash the price of cement to 3,500 per bag,.
Some of us knew he must be joking or may be high on something.
Dangote Cement is the only cement company in Nigeeia that has the capacity and volume to fix and crash the prices of cement as they want, not BUA cement.
That is why they are market price makers. The rest of the cement companies in Nigeria are playing catch-up.
So last year, 2023, Dangote cement had a good year.
The company generated revenue of N2.21 trillion ($1.37 billion) in 2023.
Dangote’s Nigerian operations brought in 1.3 trillion naira.
Africa’s operations in 10 countries brought in the rest.
Dangote runs a company that has a robust corporate structure in place.
Dangote does not have the right to dip his hands into the company’s funds and collect money as he wishes.
He is forbidden, even though the company belongs to him and the cement company has a healthy cash flow.
So how then does he survive and pay bills?
Dangote Cement pays him a salary every month as the chairman of the company. .
Just as they pay the staff of the company
He also receives a sitting allowance, which he is entitled to as chairman.
Other board members of the company are also paid a standing allowance.
Sitting allowance is what a big company pays board members of the company for their time when they have a board meeting.
As the founder of the company, he is also entitled to other founder privileges, like having his car changed every year if he wants.
Then his fuel for the cars he uses in his convoy, the renewal of the DSTV in his house, his medical bills, the salary of his domestic staff like drivers and cooks, and the private jets he flys will be taken care of by Dangote Cement.
Let’s say Dangote’s side chick bills him an urgent 10 million naira.
He can’t touch the funds belonging to Dangote Cement and then give them to her in order to make her happy.
Rather, he will give her from his pocket if he wishes.
Because he is not allowed to touch the company’s funds, no matter the temptation, the company has a structure in place; every major expense at Dangote Cement requires the approval of the board of directors.
For instance
Dangote Cement is currently running a TV commercial on Arise TV.
Before crediting the Arise TV bank account, the board of directors of Dangote Cement duly approved the payment to Arise TV, which is in billions of naira.
This is why the board of directors is paid a sitting allowance every quarter to sit and deliberate on such matters.
After Deloitte, a renowned accounting firm, has audited the company’s books, Dangote waits for the company he founded to declare profit at the end of the fiscal year before he receives his dividends.
Dangote Cement had a good year last year.
Out of the 2.8 trillion in revenue they made last year, the company declared a staggering profit of N455.58 billion ($282 million).
The board of directors sat down to review the audited account, and since they were satisfied with what they saw, they recommended a dividend of N30 ($0.0185) per share for the 2023 fiscal year, a substantial increase from the N20 ($0.0124) dividend paid in 2022.
Dangote Cement is a publicly listed company, listed on the floor of the stock exchange, and so Dangote controls Dangote Cement, as he controls 87% of the company.
Dangote’s indirect stake in Dangote Cement, through Dangote Industries Limited, comprises 14,621,387,610 shares, equivalent to 85.8 percent of the company’s total issued shares.
Additionally, he holds 27,642,637 shares directly in the company, bringing his total stake to 16,752,154,537 shares, or 87.28 percent.
With this majority ownership, Dangote cement will pay Aliko Dangote a considerable dividend of N146.5 billion ($284.5 million) on April 29, 2024, from the profit the company generated last year, solidifying his status as Africa’s wealthiest individual and a prominent dividend earner on the continent.
Another important thing to note is that Dangote Cement will not share all the profit made last year with shareholders.
No
At least 100 billion out of the over 400 billion in profit will be kept in the bank as retained profit, meaning that as a business, you don’t share all your profit.
You keep some in the bank for the rainy days and the future expansion of the business.
Dangote deserves his flowers.
To build a cement factory in Nigeria today, you must spend at least $1 billion (1.6 trillion), and just one man has four alone in Nigeria.
Aliko Dangote has structured his business with corporate governance in place.
This is why, when Aliko is no longer alive, because of the proper structure and corporate governance in place in his business, his three daughters will continue to enjoy this dividend payment nonstop every year, and his death will not be the end of Dangote cement.
If the three daughters are no more, Dangote’s grandkids will take over to enjoy the dividend payment.
All his business has been structured to thrive in his absence.
An example of how to build generational wealth and generational businesses that will outlast the founder
A business that can last more than 100 years and is still flourishing.
Aliko Dangote has his flaws, many of them, but one thing you can’t take away from him is that he is the poster boy for how to build a sustainable, structured business in Nigeria.
Showing my generation of entrepreneurs with his examples how it is done
Chukwudi Iwuchukwu