Dangote Cement Plc (NGX: DANGCEM), Nigeria’s largest cement producer, has raised its dividend by 50% after a strong 2025 performance, approving a record payout of NGN753.8bn ($550mn) to shareholders.

Shareholders approved the dividend at the company’s annual general meeting in Lagos, lifting the payout to NGN45 per share from NGN30. The company said the payment was the highest dividend in its history and reflected strong earnings, cash generation and balance sheet strength.

Chairman Emmanuel Ikazoboh said the increase underscored Dangote Cement’s commitment to rewarding shareholders while maintaining long-term investment in the business.

“Our commitment remains to create sustainable value for all stakeholders. This significant dividend increase demonstrates the strength of our business model, our disciplined approach to capital allocation and our confidence in the future,” Ikazoboh said.

“We appreciate the trust our shareholders have placed in us and remain committed to delivering superior returns while maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance and operational excellence,” he added.

Dangote Cement said earnings per share rose to NGN59.86 in 2025 despite a challenging operating environment marked by inflation, currency volatility and high energy and logistics costs across several African markets.

Group Managing Director and CEO Arvind Pathak said Dangote Cement’s higher dividend was backed by the company’s financial performance and healthy balance sheet.

“The decision to increase our dividend by 50 per cent to NGN45 per share demonstrates the strength of Dangote Cement’s earnings capacity and cash generation capability,” Pathak said.

“As we continue to execute our pan-African growth strategy, we remain committed to creating lasting value for our shareholders, investing in the future of the business, and supporting Africa’s industrial development,” he added.

“Our shareholders have stood by us throughout our journey, and we are delighted to reward that trust with another significant increase in returns.”

Dangote Cement is the flagship listed industrial company of Dangote Industries and one of the largest cement producers in sub-Saharan Africa. The privately held industrial conglomerate is controlled by Aliko Dangote – Africa’s richest person – whose businesses span cement, sugar, salt, fertiliser, logistics, oil refining and petrochemicals.

Dangote's pan-African expansion drive

Dangote Cement continued to expand its African footprint in 2025, commissioning a 3mn tonne-per-year grinding plant in Côte d’Ivoire. The project strengthened its presence in West Africa and lifted total installed capacity to 55mn tonnes per year across 11 African countries.

The company said it remains focused on its long-term target of expanding installed cement capacity to 80mn tonnes per year by 2030, while improving operational efficiency, increasing exports, expanding sustainability initiatives and raising shareholder returns.

Its investments in logistics, energy efficiency, alternative fuels and plant modernisation are intended to strengthen its cost position as African cement producers face volatile input prices, currency weakness and rising infrastructure demand.

Dangote Cement remains the continent’s largest producer by installed capacity and geographic reach. The company reported Q1 2026 revenue of NGN1.198 trillion, up 20.4% year-on-year, while EBITDA rose 22.8% to NGN567.1bn and profit after tax increased 53.5% to NGN321.1bn. Group cement and clinker volumes rose 13.8% to 7.5mn tonnes, driven by growth in both Nigeria and its pan-African operations.

The Nigerian business remained the core earnings engine, with volumes rising 11.5% to 4.9mn tonnes, while pan-African volumes increased 19.5% to 2.9mn tonnes. Dangote Cement also reported a 71.6% rise in Nigerian cement and clinker exports in Q1, reflecting stronger regional demand and efforts to use Nigeria as an export base into West and Central Africa.

Dangote Cement is advancing expansion projects at Itori in Nigeria and in Ethiopia after commissioning the Côte d’Ivoire grinding plant. These investments form part of its longer-term plan to lift installed production capacity to 80mn tonnes per year by 2030.

Last month, Moody's Ratings affirmed the ratings of Dangote Cement, maintaining the company's B3 corporate family rating and A3.ng national scale rating with a stable outlook following a periodic review, citing its dominant market position, high profitability and conservative leverage profile.

Moody's said the ratings reflect Dangote Cement's strong position in Nigeria and other African markets, supported by its low-cost operating model, vertical integration and relatively protected domestic markets. The company generated Moody's-adjusted gross margins of more than 60% and maintained low leverage of 0.4x debt-to-EBITDA, with net leverage of 0.1x, during the 12 months to March 2026.

Cement sector rivals report stronger earnings

The update comes as several large African cement producers invest in capacity, logistics and energy efficiency, seeking to capture long-term demand from urbanisation, housing shortages, transport infrastructure and industrialisation. The industry remains dominated by a small group of regional champions led by Dangote Cement, BUA Cement (NGX: BUACEMENT), Lafarge Africa (NGX: WAPCO), PPC (JSE: PPC), Bamburi Cement (NSE: BAMB; suspended) and Morocco-linked producers including Ciments de l’Afrique and LafargeHolcim Maroc (CSE: LHM).

BUA Cement has also delivered a strong start to 2026. The company reported Q1 2026 revenue of NGN355bn, up 22.1% year-on-year, while profit after tax rose 117.4% to NGN176.4bn from NGN81.1bn a year earlier. The result reinforces BUA’s position as Nigeria’s second-largest cement producer and Dangote Cement’s main domestic challenger.

BUA’s expansion strategy has focused on increasing capacity in Nigeria’s northern and southern markets, reducing logistics costs and deepening its reach into infrastructure and retail construction demand. The company has expanded production in Sokoto, Edo and Adamawa states and remains well positioned to benefit from Nigeria’s road, housing and industrial construction pipeline.

Lafarge Africa has become one of the strongest earnings stories in the sector. The company reported Q1 2026 profit after tax of NGN97.95bn, up 101% year-on-year, while net sales rose 35% to NGN334.9bn. The company attributed the result to higher volumes, improved plant stability, cost discipline and stronger route-to-market execution.

Lafarge Africa is also at the centre of one of the sector’s most important ownership changes. Huaxin Building Materials Group (SSE: 600801; HKEX: 6655) completed the acquisition of Holcim’s 83.81% stake in Lafarge Africa in August 2025, marking a major expansion of the Chinese group’s African footprint after earlier acquisitions of Lafarge Zambia, Lafarge Cement Malawi and South Africa’s Natal Portland Cement.

The record dividend underlines Dangote Cement’s continued dominance of Nigeria’s cement market and its strategy of using pan-African expansion to support earnings growth and shareholder returns.

Dangote Industries' refinery listing 

Meanwhile, investor attention has increasingly shifted to Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, the group’s 650,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery complex near Lagos, which began operations in 2024 and has reshaped Nigeria’s fuel market by reducing reliance on imported petroleum products.

Reuters reported that the planned $1bn private placement implies a refinery valuation of about $39.1bn ahead of a planned third-quarter 2026 public listing. Separately, Bloomberg and others have estimated the refinery could command an IPO valuation of up to $50bn. Dangote Group announced plans to sell a 5-10% stake in its refinery.

Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) chairman Umaru Kwairanga said the exchange was working with stock exchanges across Africa to broaden participation in the anticipated offering and strengthen integration among the continent’s capital markets.

Speaking at the London Africa Summit in June, he said the refinery’s eventual listing should be viewed as an African opportunity rather than solely a Nigerian transaction.