Dangote Cement Plc has received overwhelming shareholder approval for a dividend of N30 per ordinary share for the financial year ended December 31, 2024. This significant decision was ratified at the company’s 16th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on June 23, 2025, in Lagos, Nigeria, with a near-unanimous vote of 353 out of 360 shareholders in favor. In addition to the dividend approval, the AGM also saw the re-appointment of several key board directors, including Aliko Dangote, Ernest Ebi, Viswanathan Shankar, Cherie Blair, and Douraid Zaghouani, following their retirement by rotation. Shareholders further approved an annual remuneration of N20 million for the Chairman and N15 million each for non-executive directors for the year ending December 31, 2025.

Addressing the shareholders, Chairman Aliko Dangote highlighted Nigeria's burgeoning leadership in cement exports. He proudly stated, “This year, Nigeria has become the largest exporter of cement across Africa. We’ve gone from being a major importer to now outpacing every other African country in exports.” On the company's strategic priorities, Mr. Dangote emphasized a focus on reducing production and foreign exchange costs, expanding market share, and driving stronger export performance to sustain this growth trajectory.

The company’s robust financial performance for the first quarter of 2025 underpins these strategic ambitions. Dangote Cement Plc reported a strong pre-tax profit of N311.974 billion, an impressive 87.48% increase compared to N166.404 billion recorded in Q1 2024. Furthermore, profit after tax soared by 85.71% to N209.2 billion. This significant profitability was fueled by substantial revenue gains, with total revenue reaching N994.6 billion, up from N817.3 billion in Q1 2024. Revenue from the Nigerian market alone jumped to N696.042 billion, boosting its share of total group revenue from 55.41% in Q1 2024 to nearly 70% in Q1 2025. Despite a slight rise of 2.29% in the cost of sales, reaching N407.2 billion compared to N398 billion in the same period last year, the slower growth of costs relative to revenue helped lift both gross profit to N587.3 billion and the gross margin to 59%, a 15 percentage point rise from the previous year. Fuel and power costs remained the largest component of production expenses at 43.5%, followed by raw materials at 21.3%, with other contributors including salaries, depreciation, and plant maintenance.

On the balance sheet, Dangote Cement’s total assets stood at N6.4 trillion. The company’s retained earnings experienced significant growth, rising to N1.2 trillion from N1.02 trillion as of December 31, 2024. The N30 per share dividend approved for the 2024 financial year, amounting to a total payout of N506.21 billion, will be paid from these retained earnings reported as of December 31, 2024. Based on a share price of N440, this dividend translates to a yield of 6.81% and a payout ratio of 100.59%. Furthermore, the company's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 12.22x is significantly lower than the industry average of 41.81x, suggesting that the stock may be undervalued.

Dangote Cement's commitment to shareholder returns was recently recognized with the "Dividend Paying Company of the Year" award at the Nairametrics Capital Market Choice Awards, held on May 23, 2025, in Lagos. This accolade, received ahead of nominees like Nigerian Aviation Company and Airtel Africa, underscores the company's consistent record of solid shareholder rewards. Since 2018, Dangote Cement has reliably paid dividends exceeding N10 per share, increasing to N16, which was maintained through 2022. The payout was further raised to N20 and then N30 for the 2023 financial year, a benchmark that has been sustained for FY 2024. The dividend, subject to withholding tax, is scheduled for payment on Monday, June 23, 2025, to shareholders registered as of Monday, June 9, 2025.