Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has described the devaluation of Nigeria’s currency, the Naira, as the biggest mess of 2023 for his company.
Dangote made this public in statement during the Annual General Meeting of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc.
According to the Chairman of the Dangote Industries Limited, the domestic operating atmosphere for his business was hostile. He noted that 2023 being an election year had a new government sworn into office.
The Africa’s billionaire, however, assured that his conglomerate is making efforts to accomplish the payment of dividends this year.
Dangote also disclosed that many companies in Nigeria, especially in food and beverages businesses, were also affected . He pointed that they also have not been unable to pay dividends.
“We are doing whatever it takes to make sure that at the end of the day, we will be paying dividends. Because if you look at our dividends last year, it was almost 50 percent more. So, we will try and get out of the mess.”
“The biggest mess created was actually the devaluation of the Naira from N460 to N1,400. You can see almost 97 percent of the companies, especially in food and beverages businesses, none of them will pay dividends this year for sure. But, we will try and get out of it as soon as possible.
“We want to see that at the end of the day, no matter how small, we will be able to pay some dividends. Especially if there is a rebound of the Naira.”
Recall that last year, 2023, Dangote announced N164 billion FX loss. That was due to the worsening economic situation of the country caused by the devaluation of Naira.
source: Daily Trust
