BusinessDay 12 Dec 2017

Tuesday 12 December 2017 C002D5556 BUSINESS DAY 15
COMPANIES & MARKETS
Dangote Obajana Cement Plant
surpasses expectations
…Investment in cheaper energy bolsters margins
Business Event
Members of the
House of Representatives
Committee on
local Content
who were on tour of the huge
Cement Plant in Kogi State on
Wednesday visited Dangote
Cement Plant, Obajana.
The lawmakers disclosed
that the Dangote Cement plant
at Obajana surpassed their expectations
on adherence to
Local Content, adding that they
were shocked by the facility at
the factory, describing the factory
as a must see plant for all
Nigerians”.
The Representatives
members were apparently
surprised by the 13.25million
metric ton cement plant capacity
which they described
as shocking.
Speaking on behalf of the 15
lawmakers who visited the plant,
the chairman of the committee
Emmanuel Ekon said: “My view
about Obajana Cement Plant
is a little shocking; shocking
in the sense that what we saw
on ground actually surpassed
expectations.” , adding that Obajana
Cement Plant “is a must see
plant for every Nigerian.This was
a great vision that has materialized
into reality. How we wish
other very wealthy Nigerians can
emulate Aliko Dangote.”
Also, in his contributio ,
Deputy Chairman of the Committee,
Suleiman Yahyah Kwande
said: “We are very impressed
with what we saw on ground.
I wish we have more investors
like Aliko Dangote. ‘I think if the
IOCs can take a cue from Dangote’s
charity and CSR works,
there would be peace in the
Niger Delta.”
They posited that Dangote
Cement has adhered to the Local
Content policy, and has even
gone ahead to train Nigerian
young engineers at its Dangote
Academy.
In his response , Plant Director
of the Dangote Cement
Obajana JV Gungune said the
capacity of the plant will soon
be upgraded, assuring that more
jobs will be created for Nigerians.
The law makers are billed
to visit other plants of Dangote
Group in some parts of the
country.
Dangote Cement Plc’s margins
have improved the most in
two years, signaling the decision
of management to switch to a
cheaper source of energy has
yielded fruit.
Dangote Cement now uses
coal to the power plant at factory,
a cheaper source of energy
compared to Low Pour Fuel Oil
(LPFO). The strategic decision
led to cost savings and improved
margins.
The largest producer of the
building materials in Africa’s
most populous nation and largest
economy recorded a 63.16
Australia-Africa trade value hits $5.7bn
Australia says its trade
relations with Africa
have improved tremendously
over the
years with the value estimated at
5.7 billion dollars in 2015.
The Australian High Commissioner
to Nigeria, Amb. Paul
Lehmann confirmed this in a
statement made available in
Abuja on Thursday.
He stated that 1.6 billion
dollars of the total trade was in
services.
He noted that “in 2015, twoway
trade in goods and services
between Australia and Africa
totalled 5.7 billion U.S. dollars,
1.6 billion dollars of that was in
services.”
Lehmann said Australia was
set to host the first Australia-
Africa week in Perth, in recognition
of the substantive economic
engagement between
Australia and many countries
of Africa.
“Next week, the Australian
city of Perth is hosting the first
Australia-Africa Week.
“The week is built around
the nucleus of the Africa Down
Under mining conference
and brings together a range
of events.
`”These include the Australia-Africa
Universities Network
Forum, the Africa Oil, Energy
and Gas Conference, and the
Australia-Africa Technology and
Infrastructure Conference.”
He said that at least 12 ministers
of mining from Africa
would participate in the event
including Nigeria’s Minister of
Solid Minerals Development,
Kayode Fayemi.
“They will be joined by a
substantial group of representatives
of Australia’s mining and
extractive industry: company
executives; investors; financiers;
suppliers; and mining service
providers.”
Lehmann said that Australian
companies had an
estimated 23 billion dollars
invested in extractive projects
percent Year on Year (y/y) surge
in gross margin to N343.16 billion
as at September 2017.
In short, on a quarter on
quarter basis, gross margins
spiked by 90 percent, the highest
since the second quarter of 2015.
Gross profit margin increased
to 56.47 percent (y/y)
in September 2017 as against
47.15 percent as at September
2016.
For the first time since 2016,
the company’s cost margins improved.
Recall that an economic
downturn had undermined
production cost as rising inflation
and a shortage of dollars
impacted negatively on the
firm’s input costs.
Cost of sales ratio, fell to
43.05 percent in the period under
review as against 52.01 percent
the previous year, thanks
to investment in the alternative
energy mix.
This means the firm has
spent less on input cost in producing
each unit of product.
It must be noted that the
flexibility in the foreign exchange
market as evidenced
by increased dollar supply has
been a boon to Dangote Cement.
“Elsewhere, we observed
signs of life from the business’
energy flexibility investment
with input cost decelerating
faster than volumes in Q3 17,”
said analysts at ARM Research
Limited.
in Africa.
He added that there were
more than 200 Australian companies
with about 700 projects
in 35 countries in the African
region.
“Much of these are in exploration
activities, as such, the
future is promising, especially
as we come out of a period of
particularly low commodity
prices,” he said.
The envoy said Africa was
the largest overseas investment
market for Australian extractive
companies.
He noted that Africa accounted
for more than 30 per
cent of the world’s mineral resources,
produced more than 60
metal and mineral products and
was a leader in the exportation of
crude oil and natural gas.
He, however, expressed
concern over the continent’s
low production of its mineral
resources, saying both Africa
and Australia shared rich endowment
of natural resources.
L-R: Sule Kazaure, director general, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC); Mohammed Momoh,
coordinator, NYSC Lagos State; Omomene Odike, MD/CEO, Gr8jobs; Robert Giles, head, retail banking,
Diamond Bank, and Mabel George, vice president, business development, West, Sigma Pension, at the
official launch of the NYSC CV bank and job portal in Lagos.
Pic by Olawale Amoo
L-R: Andrew Nevin, partner/chief economist, PwC; Tunde Lemo, former deputy governor, Central Bank
of Nigeria (CBN); Rasak Jaiyeola, vice president, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN),
and Isma’ila Muhammadu Zakari, president, during the ICAN economic discourse series, with the theme:
“2018 FGN Budget and Beyound” in Lagos. Pic by Olawale Amoo
L-R: Fabian Ajogwu, vice president, Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators; Bode Rhodes-Vivour,
judge of the supreme court of Nigeria representing chief justice of Nigeria , and Shola Oshodi-John,
registrar/CEO, Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators ,during the institute’s annual investiture and
awards ceremony with the theme’ Ethics And Professionalism in Arbitration’ in Lagos. Pic by Pius Okeosisi
L-R: Dele Adeyinka, chairman, Committee of e-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH); Kayode Ariyo, chief
operating officer, Global Accelerex; Ahmed Lateef, CSP, Police Special Fraud Unit, and Tunde Ogungbade,
MD, Global Accelerex, , at the POS Innovation Summit in Ikoyi, Lagos.