Nigerian billionaire and Africa’s
richest man Aliko Dangote has become the first African entrepreneur to lay
claim to a $20 billion fortune as the stock value of his largest holding,
Dangote Cement, leaped just about three-fourths since March when Forbes
released its annual ranking of the world’s richest people. Read more after the cut...
Aliko Dangote’s 93% stake in the
cement company is now worth $19.5 billion. Add this to his controlling stakes
in other publicly-listed companies like Dangote Sugar and National Salt Company
of Nigeria and his significant shareholdings in other blue-chips like Zenith
Bank, UBA Group and Dangote Flour; his extensive real estate portfolio, jets,
yachts and current cash position, which includes more than $300 million in
recently awarded Dangote Cement dividends, Dangote is now worth more than $20
billion.
Put into context, the Nigerian
billionaire is now among the top 25 richest people in the world, richer than
Russia’s richest man, Alisher Usmanov, richer than India’s Lakshmi Mittal and
running neck and neck with India’s Mukesh Ambani. He is catching up to such
Americans as Google’s billionaire founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
The unprecedented surge in Dangote
Cement’s share price is largely a market response to the company’s impressive
2013 Q1 results.
The cement manufacturer’s unaudited
results for the three months ending March 31 showed that the company’s pre-tax
profit rose to $339 million, representing an 80.6% increase from last year and
a strong indicator of the company’s future earning potential. The results also
indicate a 79.5 % rise in its earnings per share over the corresponding period
last year.
Explaining the company’s share price
boost in an email to Forbes, Carl Franklin, Dangote Cement’s Head of
Investor Relations in the U.K said that in the first quarter of 2013, the
company had a huge increase in demand across Nigeria, gas supply improved
considerably and the capacity was much more ramped up.
Source: Forbes
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