Naira drops to N1,370/$ at parallel market, gains marginally at official window

The naira devaluation has continued to pose significant
challenges to firms, cutting deep into profit margins and eroding shareholders’
dividends.

On April 30, Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries
Limited, said the devaluation of naira created the “biggest mess” for the
company in 2023.

 “We are doing
whatever it takes to make sure that at the end of the day, we will be paying
dividends because if you look at our dividends last year, it was almost 50
percent more so we will try and get out of the mess,” Dangote said.

“The biggest mess created was actually the devaluation of
the naira from N460 to N1,400.”

He said almost 97 percent of the companies, especially in
food and beverages businesses, will not pay dividends this year due to the FX
constraints.