Conglomerate Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp) anchored the phenomenal expansion in its net profit for the first quarter of the year on a more-than-threefold increase in the cash earned from energy sales.
That alone provided 57.2 per cent of its revenue for the period, figures from the corporation’s latest earnings report showed.
Cost efficiency was a significant, additional factor that helped lift the bottom line more than nineteen times to N35.9 billion compared to a year ago, with net profit margin – a pointer to how much turnover has turned into profit – climbing to 40.6 per cent from 5.7 per cent.
Revenue for Transcorp, whose operations crisscross oil & gas, hospitality and power, was up 173.4 per cent at N88.6 billion.
In a way, the growth rate implies the capacity of the group to stay in the mode of recording a substantial turnover even after its most prominent business, Transcorp Power, was carved out into an independent entity and listed separately on the Nigerian Exchange, where the parent’s shares are also quoted.
In addition to Transcorp Power, now worth N2.8 trillion in market value relative to N1.8 trillion at listing in March, other subsidiaries in the group include Transcorp Hotels and Transcorp Energy.
“We achieved growth across all major indices, focusing on operational efficiency at both our power plants and maximising opportunities within our hospitality business,” Owen D. Omogiafo, the chief executive, said in a press release.
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It reflects “our ability to adapt and succeed in changing markets,” Ms Omogiafo added.
In a boost to operating profit, the corporation reported N12.5 billion in other income, up from N239.1 million a year earlier, stating “gains on sales of investment” as contributing N11 billion (88.1 per cent of that value).
The board of directors at Transcorp wants the group’s issued shares to be much smaller than the current 40.65 billion units and is putting on the table the reconstruction of its outstanding shares to 10.16 billion at the annual general meeting this month.
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Shareholders get one share in exchange for every four they currently hold if the bid succeeds.
Tony Elumelu, the chair of United Bank for Africa, is Transcorp’s foremost shareholder, holding 30.8 per cent of its ownership, according to its 2023 audited annual report.