From Rotimi Asher, Lagos
Dangote Cement Plc has spent N41.15bn to repurchase shares belonging to shareholders of the company in its Tranche I of the share buy-back programme.
Dangote said it repurchased 121,404,714 shares during the “Tranche I” of its share buy-back programme which lasted for two days between July 17-July and July 18, 2023.
The shares represent 0.71 per cent of the company’s issued and fully paid ordinary shares.
The details of the deal show that the shares were priced at an average of N339 per share, the cement maker said in a regulatory filing.
When a business buys back its own shares, it lowers its total assets. This means that its return on assets, return on equity, and other metrics are better than if it didn’t buy back its own shares.
When the number of shares goes down, Earnings Per Share (EPS) can grow faster as sales and cash flow go up.
Dangote Cement said following the “conclusion of Tranche I, the total number of issued and fully paid outstanding shares of DCP amounts to 16,752,154,537.
“The repurchased shares will be held as treasury shares and may subsequently be canceled. Execution of this Tranche I did not have any material impact on the Company’s financial position.”
In December 2022, shareholders of Dangote Cement in Lagos unanimously approved the share buyback of up to 10 per cent of its issued shares.
Sequel to the approval the Chairman of the company, Aliko Dangote, said, “The proposed programme is being undertaken in line with the Company’s corporate strategy to make the company more attractive in the near term and to position Dangote cement for long-term growth.
“The board of directors is of the opinion that it is in the best interest of shareholders to proceed with the proposed programme. A share buy-back programme may result in an increase in the earning per share, in the absence of any other mitigating factors.”