Nigeria’s Dangote Cement Plans to Sell $833 Million in EuroBonds for Expansion

Debt will be issued in tranches over next three years: CFO

Company also considering sale of Eurobonds to improve funding

Dangote Cement Plc said it got approval from Nigerian regulators to issue 300 billion naira ($833 million) in local-currency bonds as it seeks to fund expansion and refinance debt.

Africa’s largest producer of the building material plans issue the debt over three years, Chief Financial Officer Brian Egan said during an investor conference call on Tuesday. The bond will be issued in tranches of 50 billion naira at a time whenever interest rates are favorable, said Egan.

The company, controlled by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, is also considering to sell Eurobonds to boost its funding, Egan said. Dangote is planning to spend $350 million on capital projects this year, including the building of export facilities at Nigeria’s seaports, which will see it begin shipments of clinker and cement to neighboring West African countries.

The company said revenue for the year through December rose 31 percent to 806 billion naira while net income rose 43 percent to 204 billion naira. Sales volumes declined by 7 percent owing to a downturn in Nigeria, its biggest market, it said.

The company sees “higher volumes” this year as Nigeria’s economy recovers, acting Chief Executive Officer Joe Makoju said on the call. Africa’s largest oil producer shows signs of recovering from a recession in 2016 after three straight quarters of expansion in gross domestic product, which the International Monetary Fund estimates will grow 2.1 percent this year.