Markets

Dangote to Intensify Local Sourcing of Sugarcane For Refining

Published

7 years ago

April 6, 2017

Dangote to Intensify Local Sourcing of Sugarcane For Refining

To consolidate its earnings and position in the sugar industry, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc has concluded plans to intensify its refined sugar from locally grown sugarcane. The move will aid self-sufficiency in sugar production and eliminate reliance on foreign exchange, as well as the current volatility of raw sugar import prices.

According to the firm, the 2016 financial year saw global sugar prices increase to the highest level operators ever witnessed in the past four years.Indeed, the elevated prices were due to reduced planting in Brazil, global warming resulting in drier than normal weather conditions in Brazil and India, the two largest sugarcane producing countries.

Also, contribution to the challenges was the strengthening of the Brazilian Real against the U.S. dollar, which resulted in Brazilian farmers holding their sugar stocks rather than selling, causing a temporary supply shortage.

Announcing its plans for the 2017 financial year, the sugar refining firm noted that it has already begun to pick up market share from competitors and smugglers, even as it increased its fleet to meet customers’ orders timely.

A review of activities during the 2016 financial year showed that the firm’s seasonal sugar production at savannah peaked at 17,122 tonnes as against 6,610 tonnes in 2015, while its full year refinery production at Apapa stood at 791,800 tonnes from 740,350 tonnes recorded in the previous year.

Also, the Group’s sugar sales volume was 778,518 tonnes last year compared to 782,000 tonnes in 2015.Financial highlights showed that the Group’s revenue was up by 68 per cent at N 169.72 billion from N101.06 bn, while a profit after tax of N14.4 billion was recorded as against N11.14bn in 2015.

Acting Group Managing Director, Abdullahi Sule, said: “We are very pleased with the results for the period under review, our revenue grew by 68 per cent and improve sales volume compared to 2015 despite the current macro-economic challenges.

“Our focus in the current year and for the future remains leveraging our strengths to maximize every opportunity to generate sales, increase our market share and create sustainable value for our stakeholders.

“Concerted efforts are being made towards the actualization of our BIPs plan. The implementation strategy has changed and the full focus is now on the expansion of the Savannah Sugar Estate to its full potentials, and development of the new site at Tunga in Nasarawa State.

“We are hopeful that the naira will continue to strengthen against the US dollar to help eliminate the current challenges we are faced with in sourcing foreign exchange to fund our raw material import and equipment requirement for the backward integration projects”.

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Samed Olukoya

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Crude Oil

Oil Prices Rebound on OPEC+ Output Delay Talks and U.S. Inventory Drop

Published

2 days ago

September 5, 2024

Samed Olukoya

Oil prices made a modest recovery on Thursday on the expectations that OPEC+ may delay planned production increases and the drop in U.S. crude inventories.

Brent crude oil, against which Nigerian oil is priced, rose by 66 cents, or 0.9% to $73.36 per barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude appreciated by 64 cents or 0.9% to $69.84 per barrel.

The rebound in oil prices was a result of the American Petroleum Institute (API) report that revealed that the U.S. crude oil inventories had fallen by a surprising 7.431 million barrels last week, against analysts 1 million barrel decline projection.

The decline signals better than projected demand for the commodity in the United States of America and offers some relief for traders on global demand.

John Evans, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates, attributed the rebound in crude oil prices to the API report.

He said, “There is a pause of breath and light reprieve for oil prices.”

Also, discussions within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, are fueling speculation about a potential delay in planned output increases.

The group was initially expected to increase production by 180,000 a day in October 2024.

However, concerns over softening demand in China and potential developments in Libya’s oil production have prompted the group to reconsider its strategy.

Despite the recent rebound, analysts caution that lingering uncertainties around global oil demand may continue to weigh on prices in the near term.

Energy

Power Generation Surges to 5,313 MW, But Distribution Issues Persist

Published

3 days ago

September 4, 2024

Samed Olukoya

Nigeria’s power generation continues to get better under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

According to the latest statement released by Bolaji Tunji, the media aide to the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, power generation surged to a three-year high of 5,313 megawatts (MW).

“The national grid on Monday hit a record high of 5,313MW, a record high in the last three years,” the statement disclosed.

Reacting to this, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, called on power distribution companies to take more energy to prevent grid collapse as the grid’s frequency drops when power is produced and not picked by the Discos.

He added that efforts would be made to encourage industries to purchase bulk energy.

However, a top official of one of the Discos was quoted as saying that the power companies were finding it difficult to pick the extra energy produced by generation companies because they were not happy with the tariff on other bands apart from Band A.

“As it is now, we are operating at a loss. Yes, they supply more power but this problem could be solved with improved tariff for the other bands and more meter penetration to recover the cost,” the Disco official, who pleaded not to be named due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, said.

On Saturday, the ministry said power generation that peaked at 5,170MW was ramped down by 1,400MW due to Discos’ energy rejection.

Crude Oil

Again NNPC Raises Petrol Price to N897/litre

Published

3 days ago

September 4, 2024

Investors King

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has once again increased the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from N855 per litre on Tuesday to N897 on Wednesday.

The increase was after Aliko Dangote, the Chairman of Dangote Refinery, announced the commencement of petrol production at its refinery.

The continuous increase in pump prices has raised concerns among Nigerians despite the initial excitement from the refinery announcement.

According to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the 650,000 barrels per day refinery will supply 25 million litres of petrol to the Nigerian market daily this September.

This, NMDPRA said will increase to 30 million litres per day in October.

However, the promise of increased fuel supply has not yet eased the situation on the ground.

Tunde Ayeni, a commercial bus driver at an NNPC station in Ikoyi, said “I have been in the queue since 6 a.m. waiting for them to start selling, but we just realised that the pump price has been changed to N897. This is terrible, and yet they still haven’t started selling the product.”

The price hike comes as NNPC continues to struggle with sustaining regular fuel supply.

On Sunday, the company warned that its ability to maintain steady distribution across the country was under threat due to financial strain.

NNPC cited rising supply costs as the cause of its difficulties in keeping up with demand.