Dangote Sugar, a unit of the Dangote Group conglomerate, has reiterated commitment to maintenance  of productive work ethics, which it attributes to its sustained leadership position in the market.

At its sixth Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, Africa’s richest man and Chairman of the company, Aliko Dangote  also revealed that it would pay  a dividend of N0.30 kobo  per share of 50 kobo each to shareholders,  which translates to a  total dividend of N3.6 billion ($22.6 million),   despite the challenging business environment.

Speaking about the financial statement, Dangote said that the company turnover grew by 18 per cent from N89.980 billion ($565.6 million) in 2010 to N106.510 billion ($700 million) in the year under review.

According to him,  Dangote Sugar’s profit before tax declined by 34.6 per cent from N16.146billion ($101.5 million) in 2010 to N10.533 billion ($66.2 million) in the year in review,  while the company’s profit after also went down by 36.9 per cent from N11.282 billion ($71 million) in  2010 to  N7.111 billion ($44.7 million).

He also indicated a decline in the company’s gross profit by 23.8 per cent to N13.733 billion ($86.3 million) for the year under review when compared to N18.033 billion ($113.3 million)  reported for the corresponding period in 2010.

The chairman noted that operating profit dropped to N10.554 billion ($66.4 million), which representing a 34.6 per cent fall over N16.148 billion ($101.6 million).

On the expectations of the company, Dangote said; “With our strategic investments in the refinery capacity expansion and the proposed acquisition of Savannah Sugar Company Limited, as part of our backward integration project, the company’s fortunes will certainly be impacted positively by these sustainable growth projects”

Alhaji Aliko Dangote is the richest man in Africa, with a net worth of $11.2 billion. Dangote Sugar is a unit of his multi-faceted Dangote Group of Companies with interests in several sectors of the economy across Africa.