Travel/Tourism
Med-View Airline Seeks Fresh Funds After N10bn Loss in FY 2018
By Dipo Olowookere
One of the airline operators in Nigeria, Med-View Airline Plc, has released its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018.
As expected, the figures were disappointing, indicating that the company might really be going through a tough time at the moment.
Both the topline and the bottomline were in red and urgent steps must be taken by the management to keep the firm afloat or else, things might get out of hand.
A brief analysis of the results by Business Post showed that the revenue generated by the company in the year dropped by 74 percent to N9.6 billion from N37 billion a year earlier.
However, the company improved its other income to N40.3 million in the year from N7.4 million, while the finance costs went down to N192.7 million from N227.1 million, with the administrative expenses rising to N5.7 billion from N4.3 billion.
Though the company recorded a profit before tax of N1.5 billion in 2017 financial year, the 2018 fiscal year closed with a loss before tax of N10.3 billion.
Furthermore, Med-View Airline ended the 2018 financial year with a loss after tax of N10.4 billion against the profit after tax of N1.3 billion in 2017, representing a 925 percent decline.
In the same vein, the earnings per share stood at -N106.22k against N12.87k of the previous year, with the return on assets (ROA) at -N55.4 percent versus N8.6 percent in 2017.
Commenting on the performance, Chairman of the company, Mr Abdul-Moshen Al-Thunayan, said the effect of the economic downturn in Nigeria “impacted adversely on our operations as there was reduction in credit opportunities which in turn affected our income.”
He also said, “The political tension and extremely tight market liquidity in Nigeria affected economic growth of Med-View.”
Furthermore, he said, “The performance of the airline was adversely impacted by the partial stagnation in the revenue generation (passenger traffic/cash in-flow) due to the lack of aircrafts and high cost of maintenance and improvement items due to foreign exchange fluctuation.”
Mr Al-Thunayan said, “The operating environment remained highly volatile characterised by lack of infrastructure and foreign currency shortages as the depletion/fluctuation of dollar continued unabated.”
“The aviation sector remained highly taxed and has witnessed the issue of double taxation on numerous items unresolved even after the government made promises to reduce it. Other airlines are not spared of the adverse impact of these difficult operating conditions,” he added.
Going forward, he said, “Our focus in the coming years is to deal with our weaknesses and enhance our strengths so we can become once again, the number one airline in Nigeria, it is our view that to be able to do this we should take a strategic view to assess the threats and opportunities in our landscape.”
Business Post has gathered that in order to expand its operations and bounce back to profitability, the board of Med-View Airline is seeking approval to raise fresh capital.
This would be one of the issues to be discussed at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the firm slated for a later day in 2019.
The company revealed that the board, at the meeting, will ask shareholders to consider and if thought fit, pass with or without modification(s) a special resolution “to approve raising of capital through private investors.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A travel card designed for tourists, business visitors, Diaspora returnees has been launched by Verve in partnership with Providus Bank.
Known as the ProvidusVerve Travel Card, the Naira-based travel card will allow inbound travellers to enjoy a smooth, secure, and convenient payment experience throughout their stay in Nigeria. It was powered by Verve’s secure.
Created to support the surge of tourists, expatriates, business visitors, conference delegates, and returning diaspora expected during the festive Detty December season, the ProvidusVerve Travel Card enables seamless payments for transportation, hotels, dining, shopping, entertainment, and everyday essentials nationwide.
The card also works on select global merchant platforms that accept Verve, including Netflix, Google Play, and other digital services, ensuring travellers enjoy uninterrupted access to familiar services.
The ProvidusVerve Travel Card eliminates the hassle of sourcing naira or converting foreign currency on arrival. It enables instant, secure transactions, reduces reliance on cash, and supports compliance with the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
It also mitigates the risks associated with carrying physical cash such as loss, theft, or fraud, offering a safe, regulation-aligned option for both online and in-person payments.
“The ProvidusVerve Travel Card is a timely solution for inbound travellers seeking reliability, security, and simplicity while navigating Nigeria.
“Together with Providus Bank, we have created a product that eliminates the friction traditionally associated with accessing local payments.
“Whether for tourism, business, or festive activities, this card ensures a smooth financial experience from the moment visitors land,” the Vice President for Issuing and Acquiring Management for Africa at Verve International, Mr Paul Ohakim, stated.
On his part, the Divisional Head for Product Management and Solution Delivery at Interswitch, Mr Ademola Adeniran, described the partnership as a reflection of “Verve’s commitment to designing products that respond to real user needs.”
“The ProvidusVerve Travel Card supports everyday experiences — from booking rides and hotels to shopping, streaming, and dining. It provides inbound travellers with a secure, compliant, digital-first way to experience Nigeria without financial barriers,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, has disclosed that the federal government may recover and sell the assets of Dana Air to refund passengers and travel agents whose funds remain trapped following the suspension of the airline’s operations.
The Minister disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday at the Ministry’s fourth quarter stakeholders’ engagement to enhance governance for effective service delivery in aviation.
Speaking at the event themed “leveraging public feedback to drive excellence in aviation services, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) will be directed to probe why funds trapped by the airline are yet to be refunded.
He revealed that the authority suspended the operations of the airline as a matter of choice between safety and disaster.
“For Dana, the problem is that it was a choice between safety and disaster. So we didn’t take the commercial thing as priority. The priority was safety, and we all looked at the damning reports that we had met on the table.
“It was a decision of the NCAA to suspend them, but I pushed them to say, look, these are the reports we are seeing on the table about safety record, about lack of standards that put the lives of Nigerians at risk. If they continue flying, I don’t know whether most of us will be here. Many of us would have been victims of one of those flights. God forbid.”
According to him, “I have asked Najomo (NCAA director general) to dig deep to find out how those passengers and agents will be refunded. He has to dig deep on that.
“One solution will also be that if that same individual or those entities are trying to come back to aviation under any guise, whether to go and register a new AOC or use any business within the aviation sector, they have to go and settle their debts first.
“We should look at their assets. There are assets that are still available. Let them sell their assets. Let’s cannibalize their revenue and pay people. Let’s find a way to go after their assets and get money to pay Nigerians who are owed.
“NCAA should do that because they can’t get away with it.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said it has imposed a N5 million penalty on Qatar Airways for consumer protection violations.
The announcement was made on Wednesday by the NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs & Consumer Protection, Mr Michael Achimugu, on X, adding that there may be other sanctions depending on how the airline treats other cases.
“Glad to announce that, today, the NCAA has sanctioned @qatarairways to the tune of five million naira being penalty for consumer protection-related infractions. In addition, the letters of investigation (LOI) written to the airline over other cases may lead to further sanctions if not treated satisfactorily,” Mr Achimugu wrote.
The fine followed an incident when a Nigerian passenger was accused by a Qatar Airways cabin crew member of sexual harassment during boarding in Lagos for a flight to the United States via Doha, Qatar.
The allegation was only reported in Doha, where the passenger was arrested, detained for 18 hours, fined, and compelled to sign a document written solely in Arabic.
Qatar Airways allegedly refused to continue his journey, forcing him to purchase another ticket at considerable financial and reputational cost.
The NCAA said it invited Qatar Airways’ country manager to a meeting over the incident, but he failed to attend, sending subordinates instead.
“I understand that some countries do not have advanced aviation consumer protection regulations like Nigeria does. In certain cases, some countries don’t even have any. This creates a situation where airlines operating out of those countries (mostly national carriers) act with disdain towards consumer protection enforcement in Nigeria.
“This is not a situation that we would accept here. It is against the law for ANY Airlines not to respond to the NCAA. It is against the law to provide false information to the NCAA. It is against the law to fail to comply with the provisions of Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023,” Mr Achimugu said in an earlier post.
In September, the NCAA accused Qatar Airways of mistreating Nigerian passengers and failing to comply with consumer protection regulations under Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.
The regulator then threatened stiff penalties against the airline for repeatedly disregarding its directives.
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