Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc obtained shareholder approval for a N500 billion rights issue, allowing the business to strengthen its financial position, grow its capital base, accelerate strategic objectives, and fund backward integration projects.
The approval was granted at the company’s 20th Annual General Meeting, which took place yesterday in Lagos. During the meeting, shareholders commended Dangote Sugar’s strong performance over the previous year and expressed their support for the organization’s continuous evolution and future plans.
Addressing shareholders, Dangote Sugar Chairman Mr. Arnold Ekpe stated that the year under review saw a significant improvement in performance, despite a challenging economic environment, noting that revenue growth and increased EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) demonstrated positive operating momentum. However, profitability was hampered by a foreign exchange loss of N46.7 billion and increased borrowing charges of N128.6 billion.
The company, he said, had a turnover of N829.2 billion, a 25% increase over 2024, adding, “The loss for the year improved to N64.1 billion from N270.9 billion in the prior year, while EBITDA rose to N149.6 billion, up from N43.0 billion.”
Despite these challenges, Ekpe informed shareholders that significant efforts are being taken to improve operational efficiency and revenue growth. “With shareholder backing for the rights issue, we are in a strong position to bolster our balance sheet, setting the stage for future growth and profitability,” he stated.
The chairman stressed the importance of the backward integration initiative “Sugar for Nigeria” as a pillar of the company’s strategic vision. “This project is expected to increase profitability and value creation, reduce import dependency, manage foreign exchange concerns, create jobs, and assist local farmers through the out-grower program.
“Our objective is to produce 1.5 million metric tonnes of sugar annually from domestically cultivated sugarcane. This involves developing approximately 45,000 hectares, with 2.7 million tonnes of cane earmarked for Numan and 3.35 million tonnes for Nasarawa. Achieving this goal requires substantial investments in land development and production capacity over the next five years,” Ekpe stated.
