Expansion: Dangote Cement mulls N200bn bonds

Dangote Cement Plc said it has obtained approval from Nigerian regulators to issue N300 billion ($833 million) in local-currency bonds as it seeks to fund expansion and refinance debt.

Africa’s largest producer of the building material plans to issue the debt over three years, CFO Brian Egan, said on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.“The bond will be issued in tranches of N50 billion at a time whenever interest rates are favourable,” said Egan.

The company is also considering selling Eurobonds to boost its funding, Egan said. Dangote is planning to spend $350 million on capital projects this year, including the building of export facilities at Nigeria’s seaports, which will see it begin shipments of clinker and cement to neighbouring West African countries. The company said revenue for the year through December rose 31% to N806 billion while net income rose 43% to N204 billion. Sales volumes declined by 7% owing to a downturn in Nigeria, its biggest market, it said 

Pan-African operations increased volumes by 8.4% and now make up 42% of the Group’s total cement sales, demonstrating the robust diversification of our business.“We expanded our footprint from eight countries to ten with the opening of new facilities in the Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone, while our operations in Cameroon, Senegal and Ethiopia achieved strong sales growth during the year. With total sales volumes of nearly 22 million tonnes, we are by far the leading manufacturer of cement in Sub-Saharan Africa.