By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Shareholders of Transcorp Plc have been told sleep with their two eyes closed before their investments in the company will continue to yield more returns.
This assurance was given by the chief executive of Transcorp, Mr Valentine Ozigbo, while reacting to the release of the firm’s audited results for the year ended December 31, 2018.
In the financial statements, Transcorp grew its profit after tax (PAT) to N20.6 billion in 2018 from N10.6 billion in the prior year, while the profit before tax (PBT) increased to N22.4 billion from N12.3bn in 2017, with the turnover rising by 30 percent to N104.2 billion.
An excited Mr Ozigbo said, “We’re proud to have ended the year on a high-note while sustaining a strong performance, which is a reflection of our sound business strategy.”
“We will continuously strive to deliver significant value to our stakeholders while achieving our long-term goals,” the CEO, who took over at Transcorp in January 2019, assured shareholders.
Explaining how the company achieved this feat, he said, “This result was achieved due to the increased revenue from the power and hospitality segments of the group.
“In addition, we were able to cut down on our loss from Forex arising from financing activities by 30 percent year-on-year as we experienced a relatively stable exchange rate during the fiscal year-ended 2018, this no doubt impacted our profit before tax as it soared 82 percent year-on-year.”
Mr Ozigbo added that, “Transcorp Power Ltd has continued to explore opportunities created by the eligible customer framework initiated by the federal government.
“We are at an advanced stage of negotiations with a number of eligible customers, which will translate into transactions in the months ahead.
“Our hospitality subsidiary, Transcorp Hotels Plc, also maintained its history of profitability in 2018, displaying the impact of our recent $100 million upgrade at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja and the immense value placed on the hotel’s best-in-class hospitality services.”
Reflecting on the results, Chairman of Transcorp, Mr Tony Elumelu, emphasised that, “We remain committed to our purpose of improving lives and transforming Nigeria by powering our industries and businesses while providing our local and international guests with unrivalled hospitality services. This is our way of creating sustainable value for all our stakeholders.”
