Chairman,  Ashaka,  Umaru Kwairanga


Shareholders of Ashaka Cement Plc have been assured of  better performance and improved return on investment  in the years ahead.
The Chairman of the company, Alhaji Umaru Kwairanga, gave this assurance while   addressing shareholders, at 37th Annual General Meeting of the company held in Gombe State, saying the future of the  company is very bright..

Ashaka Cement ended the 2011 financial year with profit after tax of N3.7 billion and paid N859 million dividend, which translated into 40 kobo per share.

However, in  his statement to the shareholders,Kwairanga told the shareholders that they should expect better results.

According to him, the substantial deficit in the nation’s country’s housing stock and a large percentage of unpaved road network present vast opportunities for the cement manufacturing sector.
“Our aim therefore, is to intensify efforts in the acceleration of projects that will improve our costs and production volumes so that we are set to fully participate and enjoy the benefits that these opportunities will bring,” he said.

According to him, a key element of the company’s cost reduction effort was focused on increasing the substitution rate of local coal for expensive low pour fuel oil (LFPO) as fuel for firing of its kilns.

Speaking in the same vein, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Ashaka Cement, Mr. Neeraj Akhoury, said the prime objective of the company is to maximise the rate of utilisation of production capacity.

“The third and most important objective is to start the first phase expansion through which we should target a production capacity of 1.3 million tonnes. We also in the process of enhancing our information technology with a robust application package to improve our business processes and optimise our turnaround time,” he said.