Apapa gridlock affects Dangote Sugar operation, as earnings hit N276.50bn

Dangote Sugar reports business growth adversely impacted by Apapa gridlock during operation in 2021, although the company managed to pull 28.8 percent increase in turnover for the period.

In a statement obtained by  Nigeria, Dangote Sugar admitted the impact of Apapa traffic, which has been a challenge to operations of many companies’ operation in Nigeria, and weighed heavily on their earnings.

The founder of Dangote Group, in 2019, had disclosed that his companies, Dangote Sugar and Dangote Cement lost over N25 billion to the gridlock in Apapa between 2017 and 2018.

This challenge has persisted three years on, even though Dangote Sugar reported its revenue ended last year with N276.50 billion, above the N214.30 billion recorded in the year 2020.

“Group production volume increased by 9.2 percent to 811,962 tonnes in contrast to 743,858 tonnes and was achieved on the strength of improved operational efficiency despite the adverse impact of the perennial Apapa traffic gridlock situation.” the statement reads.

Also commenting on the Apapa headache, the Group Managing Director, Dangote Sugar Refinery, Ravindra Singhvi, stated, “Our impressive performance in the year demonstrates our resilience in the face of prevalent challenges.”

Meanwhile, Dangote Sugar was also able to raise its gross profit to N50.21 billion, with profit after taxation hitting N22.05 billion, according to the statement.