By Adedapo Adesanya
Transcorp Hotels Plc has released its half year report for the year 2019 (January – June) and indications show that the net profit plummeted by 60 percent as the group made N556.9 million profit after tax against last year’s PAT of N1.4 billion.
Despite the group’s increased revenue from contracts with customers totaling N9.3 billion against N8.0 billion in H1 2018, the leading hospitality brand saw an increase in the cost of sales, closing at N2.3 billion as at June 30, 2019 against N2.1 billion as at June 30, 2018 as further analysis showed that there was an increase in total costs expended on rooms, food, and beverages.
The group’s administrative expenses also showed that there was a higher accumulation of N4.3 billion compared with the previous year’s N4.0 billion, with costs seeing increase in core areas such as advertising, marketing, repairs, maintenance, and staff.
Transcorp Hotel Plc’s finance cost, which comprised interest on debts and borrowings, ballooned to N2.7 billion in the period under review from N2.5 billion in H1 2018, while total finance income stood at N6.8 million from N6.0 million in the previous half year.
The company paid a total of N262.1 million in taxes against the preceding H1’s N640.9 million. A further break down of this payment revealed that the company’s income tax charge was N245 million with its educational tax charged at N16.7 million.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Modupe Gbadeyanka