Profit before tax was up by 141.9 per cent at N54.7 billion

Dangote Sugar Refinery posted a strong net profit for 2022, taking its earnings to their peak level ever on the back of a huge leap in sales.

Shares in the company jumped 9.9 per cent to N19.35 in Lagos on Thursday, their highest in 52 weeks after the audited results were released.

Revenue, accelerating 46.1 per cent to N403.2 billion, was mostly contributed by income from the firm's flagship product - 50kg sugar - which accounted for N97 of every N100 made during the year.

The year saw a shift in the share of contribution of the four regions where Dangote Sugar operates to the income pool, with northern Nigeria bringing the most revenue to the table, while Lagos, which had taken the lead for years, now occupies the second position.

The sweetener maker had its operating profit boosted by other income which leapt three times over to N1.4 billion, helped by an inventory adjustment variance of N707.1 million.

Spending in the form of selling and distribution expenses as well as administrative costs modestly dropped. That somewhat eased the pressure on operating profit.

With interest from bank deposits jumping at a higher rate than that of 2021, finance income rose to N6.4 billion, improving by 349.5 per cent.

Dangote Sugar, majority owned by Africa's richest person Aliko Dangote, currently has a 1.4mt per annum installed capacity, with its Apapa plant ranked the biggest in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of refining capacity.

Profit before tax was up by 141.9 per cent at N54.7 billion, while profit for the year advanced to N54.7 billion from N22.1 billion.

The company said it will pay shareholders a dividend of N1.50 per share for the year, totalling N18.2 billion.