The Cement Company of Northern Nigeria
Plc, manufacturer of Sokoto Cement, has announced a turnover of
N15.787bn for its 2013 financial year.
The Chairman, CCNN, Mr. Abdullsamad Rabiu, disclosed this during the firm’s 2013 Annual General Meeting in Abuja.
“Profit after tax in the year under review was N1.423bn, compared to N1.196bn in the year 2012,” he said.
Rabiu
noted that the good performance and improved cash flow situation of the
firm had made the board to recommend the payment of a gross dividend of
70 kobo per share, which amounted to N879.674m.
He
explained to the shareholders that the plan of the Security and
Exchange Commission to phase out paper-based dividend warrants was still
on course and urged those who had yet to fill the e-dividend mandate
and submit to the designated registrars to do so.
The chairman said cement sale in 2013 was high and the company recorded an increase in both turnover and profit after tax.
He
said “Clinker production was hampered by lack of electric power. The
board has now decided to increase the capacity of the company’s power
plant because the electricity supply from the national grid is
insufficient.”
Rabiu observed that in 2013, the company showed a successful reintroduction of biomass as a supplementary kiln fuel.
Commenting
on the firm’s performance and its prospects, the National President,
Constance Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr. Shehu Mikail, said
the steps so far taken by the firm’s board would build investors’
confidence.
He said, “The company is
abiding by the standardisation rules when it comes to the manufacturing
of cement and this will increase more value to our cement production as
well as build the confidence of our end users.
“We
hope that our company will also set a dividend policy so that
shareholders will have more confidence, but we appreciate the dividend
that is declared. This of course also led to our approval of the
increment of board members remuneration.”
Mikail said it was the belief of shareholders that the company could raise additional capital to enhance performance generally.
“We
appreciate the board and management for abiding by the rules and
policies of the regulatory authorities in Nigeria because the company is
now a toast to interested investors,” he said.
