We cannot continue to sit on a large concentration of dollar-denominated debts and therefore, we need to refinance," Chairman of Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr Mobolaji Balogun, informed shareholders at the meeting yesterday. Recall that last year, the company raised the sum of N131.6 billion through Rights Issue. According to Mr Balogun, Lafarge Africa had a debt of $600 billion in 2016 and in order to address the impact on the business, $300 million was hedged through non-deliverable forward forex contracts provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Speaking further, he said the company's total debt has been reduced to N238 billion from N389 billion as a result of the 2017 rights issue and cash generated from its operations. The Chairman assured shareholders to expect a huge turnaround in the next 12 months. "By the next 12 months, you will see the benefits of our turnaround plan, which is beginning to show in our Nigerian operations, and will be extended to our South Africa subsidiary," he assured.