Sokoto Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) has declared a gross dividend of 10k per share bringing the total dividend paid to shareholders to 90k in the 2009 financial year.
The cement manufacturers also recorded a net profit after tax of N1, 812,299,817 as against a net profit of N1, 530,524,351it posted last year.
According to Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, Chairman of CCNN, clinker production and cement sales were all time high last year, despite the problems encountered with the kiln filter and that the daily clinker production will increase as soon as the new filter was installed in the third quarter of this year.
Rabiu stated that the demand for cement was high during the first eight months while the company experienced a somewhat weaker market in the remaining period of the year, saying the development was to a large extent compensated for by export to Niger Republic.
Rabiu noted that the average price of liquefied petroleum fuel oil (LPFO) used in powering the factory during the year was 56 per cent higher than in 2008 thereby adding about 40 per cent to the cost of production.
According to him, power remained the major problem facing the cement industry, noting that the cost of transporting LPFO from the South to Sokoto state was one of the problems that added to the cost of production to almost 40 percent this year.
He said: "Our major problem is power and if we can have power in the factory, it will reduce our cost of production. But, unfortunately we are using LPFO to power our machines in CCNN which we have to transport from the South and this takes about 40 percent of our cost of production."
