Dangote cement Plc has emerged as the overall winner of this year’s edition of the prestigious Pearl Awards endorsed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Aside emerging as the “Pearl of the Nigerian Stock Exchange” at the awards held Sunday in Lagos, the company also won awards in three other categories.

Leading the pack of other brands, Dangote Cement was adjudged by the board of governors of the Pearl Award Nigeria as the winner in the Industrial goods Sectoral Leadership award, Building Materials category.

The Dangote brand was also declared as the winner of the Highest Profit Margin Ratio Award in the Market Excellence Category for companies quoted on the Stock Market and equally won the award as the company with the highest dividend growth in the capital market.

The winning streak was capped with the Overall Highest Award, having been nominated in almost all the categories and winning more than any other brand.

The President of the Pearl award Board of Governors, Tayo Orekoya, lauded the Management of Dangote Cement for awards won and enjoined the company to keep the company’s flag flying.

“We are very proud to be associated with Dangote Cement and with Dangote Group generally. For the second year running, Dangote Cement is winning the Pearl overall award, emerging as the PEARL of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. This is indeed a thing of joy and a thing to be very proud of. We wish the management well and congratulate the shareholders of the company for being part of the highest profitable company on the floor,” he said.

Orekoya pointed out that the emergence of Dangote Cement Plc as the winner in the three categories was a great feat, and was in recognition of the company’s outstanding operational and stock market performance in the 2012 year of assessment.

Chief Executive of Dangote Cement, D.V.G. Edwin, thanked the organisers of the award and assured them that the company will not rest on its oars in terms of production of quality cement for the masses to use. He also said the company’s expansion plan is in progress and that very soon, the upgrade of capacity that the company is working on will significantly increase the supply of the products into the market.

Edwin dedicated the award to the company’s shareholders who have always stood by the company to achieve greater feat.

Dangote Cement is Nigeria’s leading cement producer with three plants in Nigeria and 13 plants across other African countries. The cement company is really a step closer to its aim of becoming Africa’s leading supplier of cement with its intention to open both its cement plants in Sengal and South Africa.

Edwin recently said: “Our plant in Senegal will soon be producing cement and our South African venture, Sephaku Cement, is well on track to open in the early part of 2014. These two plants will be our first production ventures outside Nigeria as we aim to become Africa’s leading supplier of cement.”

Ultimately, Dangote Cement across Africa will have the capacity to produce over 50m metric tonnes per annum (mta) by the end of 2016

Commenting further on the group’s African project, Edwin revealed that “in Ethiopia, work is well underway to build a 2.5mta plant at Mugher, with production expected early in 2015. In Tanzania, we have now begun work on a 3mta, gas-fired plant at Mtwara that is expected to be operational in October 2015. In Zambia, work is underway on a 1.5mta plant at Ndola, with cement production expected in mid-2014…Building work is progressing with a 1.5mta grinding plant in Cameroon, with completion expected in the first half of 2014. In Congo, we will build an integrated plant of 1.5mta, expected to begin production in the second quarter of 2016.”

In addition, he said Dangote Cement will also build a 1.5mta plant in South Sudan, to become operational in 2016, as well as a 1.5mta integrated facility in Kenya.

Edwin revealed that along the coast of West Africa, the group has concluded plans to build import facilities to receive and bag bulk cement produced in Nigeria and Senegal and that work has begun on import facilities in Sierra Leone, with operations expected to begin towards the end of 2013 or in early 2014.

He said: “In Liberia, plans are advancing and orders for equipment have been made for an import facility in Freeport Monrovia. Imports into Liberia are expected to commence in early 2015. In Ivory Coast, we plan to build a 1.5mta grinding plant in Abidjan, with operations projected to begin in early 2015. In Ghana, we plan to open 1.5mta grinding plants in Tema and Takoradi by early 2015. We have recently announced our intention to build an integrated 1.5mta plant in Niger.”

News Express recalls that Dangote Cement in Nigeria recently announced an impressive nine months results which showed growth level on all ramifications.

Sales increased by 29.5 per cent in Nigeria to 9.95 million tonnes, while an estimated 16 million tonnes of cement was sold in the country in the reviewed nine months, ended on September 30, 2013.

For the reviewed period, Dangote Cement revenue increased by 28.7 per cent while its profits grew by 39.4 per cent to N189.4 billion.

The foremost cement manufacturing group’s financial result released on the floor of the NSE, showed that, while its profit before tax (PBT) rose to N151.73 billion indicating an increase of N45 billion over N106.43 billion in 2012, its group operating profit rose by 36.4 percent to N156.89 billion.

In the three months ended September 30, 2013, gross profits stood at N57.26 billion in contrast to N43.91 billion in 2012 while PBT rose from N35.62 billion to N44.05 billion.

The Cement’s group revenue for the period under review went up by N64 billion or 28.7 percent to N288.98 billion compared to N244.50 billion at the preceding year. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, the group earned N90.52 billion in contrast to N70 billion in 2012.

•Photo shows GMD, Dangote Cement, Mr. DVG Edwin (middle) receiving the overall Pearl Award from President/CE, Pearl Awards, Mr. Tayo Orekoya, and Chairman of the occasion, General Theophilus Danjuma (retd.)