Dangote Sugar’s half-year loss drops by 83% amid lower finance costs

Dangote Sugar Refinery reported an 83.1 per cent drop in net loss for the first half of the year, compared to the same period of 2024, helped by a considerable reduction in finance costs.

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Loss after tax for the refined sugar maker stood at N24.3 billion, down from N144 billion as the company shook off a significant foreign exchange loss that hammered its operations in the first half of last year.

Exchange loss for the period under review fell to N160.2 million from N193.7 billion a year ago, according to Dangote Sugar’s newly released earnings report.

Finance costs totalled N65 billion, compared to N234.2 billion a year earlier, with finance cost on letter of credit and interest on borrowings as the major pressure points.

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Only N626.1 million of the loss for the period was incurred in the second quarter, suggesting that as much as 97.4 per cent of the net loss was recorded between January and March.

Revenue grew by 45.5 per cent to N430.2 billion, driven by a reasonable boost in the sales of its flagship product – the 50kg sugar – which alone contributed 96.9 per cent of sales. Lagos accounted for more than half of turnover.

The United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agriculture Service expects Nigeria’s sugar imports to increase by 12 per cent this year, citing increased consumption, foreign exchange availability and appreciation in the value of the naira.

In addition to local sourcing, Dangote Sugar imports raw sugar from Brazil, which it refines into Vitamin A fortified granulated white sugar and sells within the country.

READ ALSO: International oil traders frustrating refineries in Africa – Dangote

Impairment losses for the period under review stood at N511.4 million in contrast to gains of N34 million in the corresponding period of last year.

Pre-tax loss came to N22.1 billion, compared to N211.4 billion a year earlier.

Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote owns a 72.3 per cent stake in the company, 5.4 per cent directly and 66.9 per cent through Dangote Industries Limited.

Total assets stood at N1.03 trillion at the end of June, down from N1.05 trillion as of December 2024. The stock has returned 84.6 per cent this year.