The hike in electricity tariff (locally) and the significant milestones in Transcorp Power Plc’s partnership with Société Beninoise d’Energie Electrique (SBEE) of the Republic of Benin which saw a boost in cross-border electricity sales to the neighbouring country have combined to increase the company’s gross revenue for the year-ended 2023.
The company also plans to diversify its energy mix, incorporating renewable energy technologies. Key targets include solar and hydropower generation to boost the overall energy base for our operation, targeting underserved and unserved sectors in Nigeria and cross-border.
The financial report of the company that was presented to its shareholders yesterday in Abuja showed that the company recorded an impressive revenue of N142.1 billion in 2023 compared to N90.3 billion in 2022. The operating profit of the company for the year under review was N64.63 billion compared to N35.87 billion in 2022. Its profit before tax increased from N28.6 billion in 2022 to N52.8 billion in 2023 representing an 84 per cent growth.
The managing director/CEO of the company, Peter Ikenga attributed the growth in revenue to the two line sources – increased consumer tariff and cross-border sales. “Through our unwavering commitment to excellence, we have increased the energy sold to SBEE. Cross-border electricity sales accounted for 18 per cent of revenue in 2023, up from 13 per cent in 2022,” Ikenga said at the first annual general meeting of the company since its shares were listed on the main board of the Nigerian Exchange Limited in March 2024.
Chairman of the board of directors of Transcorp Power, Emmanuel Nnorom who presided over the meeting in Abuja announced that the board of directors have proposed a final dividend of N3.13 kobo per share for shareholders’ approval. The dividend was unanimously accepted by the general house with most of the shareholders showering praises on the management and board of the company for effective management of the company.
He also disclosed that the company significantly paid down its foreign exchange (FX) acquisition loan from $215 million in 2014 to $1.6 million as of the end of FY 2023, but fully paid on 9th January 2024.
“We continued to maintain a highly motivated workforce by prioritising the resolution of employee-related issues, sustaining a safe and conducive work environment, robust but fair performance evaluation system, training, and numerous bonding activities. All this we did while maintaining our impeccable safety records,” Nnorom told the cheering audience at Transcorp Hotel in Abuja on Monday.
He said the list price of N240 per share of the company resulted in a market capitalisation of N1.8 trillion. The free float of the company as of the date of listing March 4, 2024, was 654,801,359. Since the listing, the share price has increased, rising from N240.00k on March 04 and sustaining its rally. “This event has opened the opportunity to further diversify and grow your company’s shareholder base and positioned your Company to access capital in the future from the Nigerian Equities Market,” the chairman stated.
Unveiling the management’s plan for this year and 2025, Ikenga said it plans to ensure over 90 percent and recover plant available capacity to 740MW by the end of 2024 and 900MW by the end of 2025.
In the medium term, the subsidiary of Transcorp Holding Plc said it aims to expand the plant capacity by reducing its carbon footprint with the inclusion of waste heat recovery systems with steam turbine technology and effectively transform its plant to a combined cycle plant. The belief is that it will potentially increase the plant installed capacity by 200 – 250MW.
“We are excited about our outlook. One reason we are excited about the future is that our corporate purpose, business strategies and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments line up beautifully behind an emerging self-sustaining electricity market in Nigeria and the convergence of the ECOWAS regional electricity market. We are responding positively by taking proactive steps to position the Company to optimise these huge opportunities that will inevitably open up in both markets.
“We will continue to operate in a very responsible manner with a strong commitment to ESG practices that mirror global best practices. We will also continue to positively impact lives, foster development, and contribute constructively to our host communities.
“We shall continue to promote an enabling environment to unleash the huge talent and potential of our staff by investing heavily in learning and developing, creating career development and advancement opportunities while delivering on our business goals. Our employees remain our most vital asset, therefore we will intentionally continue to drive staff engagement and continue to nurture a culture of teamwork and an inclusive work environment,” Ikenga said.