Aliko Dangote, the wealthiest man in Africa, saw a considerable boost in his nett worth at the end of the first week of November when shares of his flagship company, Dangote Cement Plc, surged by double digits, staging a recovery from their slump in October.
Dangote’s net worth climbed by $700 million in the past week, going from $17.6 billion on November 1 to $18.3 billion on November 7, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which measures and compares the fortunes of the 500 richest people in the world.
The performance of his 86 percent investment in Dangote Cement, a publicly traded company, can be blamed for the large increase in his nett worth over $18.3 billion, as the share price of the industry leader rebounded quickly after hitting a one-year low near the end of October.
The 7.9 percent increase in the company’s share price on the Nigerian Exchange, from N220.5 ($0.502) on November 1 to N240 ($0.546) at the time this report was written, as investors on the local bourse renewed buying interest in the company’s shares, which continue to trade below their fair value, was what caused the $700 million increase in his net worth figures.
The company’s shares are currently trading below analysts’ estimated fair price-to-earnings ratio, which compares a company’s valuation to its earnings and indicates to investors how much a company is worth, said Simply Wall St, a Sydney-based research firm.
The Australian business also disclosed that analysts agree that the company’s stock price would increase by 38.8% in the short to medium term and that cement producer earnings are anticipated to increase by 18.83 percent annually.
Despite these projections, Dangote Cement has struggled to improve upon its financial performance from the previous year, with profits declining by double digits at the conclusion of the first nine months of its current fiscal year because of weaker demand and higher energy prices.
According to information in the company’s recently released financial statement, the group’s earnings decreased by 23.4 percent to N213.1 billion ($486.5 million) at the end of the first nine months of its 2022 fiscal year from N278.25 billion ($635.2 million) the previous year as rising energy and distribution costs ate into its profits.
The billionaire businessman, who is not only the richest person in Nigeria but also in Africa, may receive a lower payout than the N293 billion ($704.1 million) he received this year due to the decline in revenues.
