Transcorp Hotels
Plc has announced a profit after tax of N4b at its 3rd Annual
General Meeting which took place at Transcorp Hilton Abuja. At the meeting, the
Shareholders of Transcorp Hotels Plc commended the management and
staff of the Company for recording a strong financial and
operational performance in the financial year ended 31st December 2016,
with improvements across all
indices despite the economic recession which
took a hefty toll on hospitality businesses generally.
The Shareholders
gave the commendation at the 3rd Annual General Meeting of the Company held at
Transcorp Hilton Abuja on Wednesday March 15, 2017, attributing the feat to
the quality of Transcorp Hilton Hotel as the leading hospitality
destination in Nigeria. They also described the management of the Company as
visionary and dedicated, as demonstrated by the Hotel’s constantly improving
quality of service.
The Shareholders
unanimously approved the Board’s recommendation of a final dividend of 40
kobo per share, stating that they are confident that as the Company continues
to make progress, it will not relent in meeting their expectations.
Speaking on behalf
of shareholders, Mr. Boniface Okezie, Chairman, Progressive Shareholders
Association of Nigeria (PSAN), expressed appreciation to the Company’s Board
and Management for paying dividend at a period when the country’s
economy is in dire straits, leading to significant drop in hotel occupancy. He
said, “At a time when a lot of companies prefer to cut dividend with a
ready excuse in the current state of the economy, we are delighted that our
Company has paid dividend which will go a long way in meeting our financial
needs".
Also speaking,
AlhajiMuktarMuktar, President, Trusted Shareholders Association, commended Transcorp
Hotels for what he termed "a stellar financial performance" amid
a challenging period and the dividend payout which he said was equally
laudable. According to Muktar, Transcorp Hotels has not relented on its
oars and has continued to shine brightly delivering world class service to an
ever growing clientele of top notch guests across the world. Little wonder it
has consistently won numerous awards and most recently bagged a long list of
honours in 2016 that will make even its competitors go green with envy. “We are
proud of this achievement and encourage the MD and the Board to continue in
this direction”. At this point, the shareholders gave a standing ovation to the
MD/ CEO for not just winning the Seven Stars 2016 CEO of the Year at a
global event, but for also leading Transcorp Hilton to win the Seven Stars Seal
of Excellence Award for the first time.
Earlier, Chairman
of the Company, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor explained to shareholders that the
strong performance recorded by the Company is because the Company continued to
re-invent its offerings, in keeping with service excellence. He noted that
the Company was relentless in maintaining market leadership in its flagship
property, closing the year with an occupancy of 60%, well ahead of competition. This
according to him ensured Transcorp Hotels delivered a resilient performance
even in the face of the impact of economic recession on the hospitality
industry which has seen occupancy for large hotels dropping below 35%.
“2016 was a year of
notable achievements for Transcorp Hotels Plc, despite the strong economic
headwinds. The upgrade of Transcorp Hilton Abuja is underway in line with our
commitment to stakeholders to build Africa’s choice hospitality assets”,
Emerhor said.
He noted
that, in validation of Transcorp Hilton Abuja as the prime hotel property in
Abuja, the Hotel won numerous awards in 2016 and for the fourth year in a row
emerged the proud recipient of five prestigious awards at the 23rd World
Travel Awards; the laurels include Africa’s Leading Business Hotel; Nigeria’s
Leading Business Hotel, Nigeria’s Leading Hotel and Nigeria’s Leading Hotel
Suite (the Presidential Suite). The World Travel Award is recognized globally
as the hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which others
aspire. The Hotel also went on to clinch the 2016 TripAdvisor Travellers’Choice
Awards and the 2016 Seven Stars Luxury Hospitality and Lifestyle
awards, Emerhor said.
In his review
of the 2016 results, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp
Hotels Plc, Mr. Valentine Ozigbo said that the Company recorded a 10 percent
growth in gross revenue at N15.31bn as against N13.98bn in 2015. This according
to him was largely driven by key events including visits by very high profile
guests, many foreign heads of government and representatives of consulates. All
this he said was due to aggressive business development.
He
said the Company recorded a Profit Before Tax of N5.24bn in 2016,
maintaining 2015 performance of N5.38bn while the Profit After Tax for the year
surpassed 2015 performance of N3.5bn by 17 percent to N4.10bn in 2016.
"Our major priority now is creating value for our stakeholders, improving
customer service for our guests and maximizing shareholder value, and we
believe very strongly that the foundation that we are laying, with the current
upgrade and refurbishment of the Transcorp Hilton Abuja and repositioning of
Transcorp Hotels Calabar, is certain to yield very positive results.” He said.
“On this premise, I
am happy to add that our turnaround initiatives for Transcorp Hotels Calabar
are equally paying off as the Hotel recorded laudable profit for the first time
since 2012”. This development, he explained, was predicated on strategy of
increasing occupancy and proactive cost management" Ozigbo stated.
Speaking on 2017
prospects, Mr. Ozigbo
maintained that the Company will keep up with the tempo to sustain the
financial performance in 2017, despite the impacts of the temporary airport
closure. He also confirmed that the Company is on track to deliver on the
ongoing upgrade of Transcorp Hilton Abuja as preparations get on for the 30th anniversary
of the Hotel in the 2nd quarter of this year.
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