Reports of Dangote Cement trucks allegedly running over and killing people all over the country may be coming back to bite the cement maker as it is currently exposed to over 130 pending litigations with a combined monetary value of over N79.1 billion.
Data exclusively seen by MoneyCentral shows that 36 out of the 130 cases, involving Nigeria’s largest cement maker are deemed material by its lawyers, defined as those with a minimum monetary claim of N100 million and/or seeking declaration in relation to the mining leases of Dangote Cement.
“Of the Material Litigation, we note that (a) there are seven (7) matters challenging or seeking declarations in relation to the Issuer’s mining leases; (b) one (1) case involves a claim for declaration of title to land; while (c) nineteen (19) cases relate to claims against the Issuer for death, bodily harm and damage caused to property, as a result of the reckless driving of drivers employed by the Issuer,” said law firm Olaniwun Ajayi LP, Dangote Cements Solicitors.
The cases are at various stages of hearing in various courts, and Dangote Cement is said to be exploring settlement options in one of the cases relating to accidents allegedly caused by the reckless driving of drivers employed by the firm.
“Whilst we note that the litigation matters are liabilities…we have nevertheless reported the Material Litigation with a combined monetary value of N79,178,907,885.00 (Material Contingent Liability Amount), in order to provide an insight into potential litigation liabilities,” said Olaniwun Ajayi LP.
Dangote Cement insists that the claims against it will not have a significant effect on its financial health, even though it is unable to predict the outcome of the cases .
The largest cement maker in Africa reported in May that first quarter 2020 revenue increased 3.8 percent to N249.2 billion ($647 million) while net income was little-changed from the earlier period at N60.6 billion. Sales from Nigeria rose 5.6 percent to N179.3 billion.
The stock closed unchanged on Monday at N127 per share and it has returned -20 percent in the past year.
The firm recently listed its N100 billion bond issuance on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).