The market value of Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp Group) listed entities is $3 billion (N4.5 trillion naira) as at today, even as Transcorp’s chairman, Tony Elumelu, called for the prioritization of power sector initiatives in Nigeria.
Elumelu disclosed this at the 19th Annual General Meeting of Transcorp on Thursday, which was attended by Nairametrics.
He revealed that when his team took over Transcorp in 2011, its market capitalization was less than N20 billion.
He acknowledged the role of the company’s shareholders in growing its “value together” over the years.
“When we took over this company in 2011, the market cap of Transcorp was actually N20 billion. Today, the group’s market cap is N4.5 trillion.”
“When we took over this company, it was founded in 2004. By the time we took over in 2011, we had not paid dividends even once. But since we took over, we have consistently paid dividends to shareholders,” he said, emphasizing this in a press interview.
Dividends and Financial Statements
Nairametrics previously reported that Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp) published its financial results for the year ending December 31, 2024, reporting a pre-tax profit of N136.6 billion.
- This marked an impressive 132.41% increase from the N58.8 billion reported the previous year, driven by a substantial rise in revenue.
- The group recorded total revenue of N407.9 billion, a 107.07% increase from N196.9 billion in 2023, with the power sector contributing a significant 82.8% of the total.
- On Thursday, Elumelu stressed that the Group achieved significant year-on-year growth, with Gross Earnings reaching N408 billion as of December 31, 2024, reflecting a 107% increase from N197 billion in 2023.
- He added that the Group’s total assets grew by 42%, reaching N751.6 billion by the end of 2024, an increase from N529.9 billion in 2023, while Shareholders’ funds for the Group increased by 45%, from N187.3 billion in December 2023 to N271.7 billion by December 2024.
In terms of dividends, and following the approval of more than 70% of the company’s shareholders on Thursday, the Board of Directors’ recommendation for a full dividend of N1.00 per share was approved.
According to Elumelu, the development comprised “an interim dividend of 40 kobo (equivalent to 10 kobo per share pre-capital reconstruction) paid on August 7, 2024, and a final dividend of 60 kobo per share for approval at the 19th Annual General Meeting, totaling a dividend of N10,161,997,573.25.”
Power Sector
Elumelu took the opportunity to reiterate that power, electricity, and access to electricity remain the single most critical factors facing the Nigerian economy, especially as the non-oil sector is expected to make greater contributions to the economy.
“We must be able to fix power to fix and transform Nigeria.”
“The dominant challenges for the power sector—namely illiquidity, infrastructure, and gas availability—remain unresolved, 20 years after some of us invested heavily in this sector,” he said.
- He revealed that, as of today, the federal government owes Transcorp over 600 billion naira, which is equivalent to $400 million.
“Much as we, as patriotic Nigerian investors, are committed to supporting the development of the federal government in facing the economy, we have been under the excruciating burden of subsidizing the sector,” he said.
- He stated that the development in the power sector is unsustainable and requires urgent attention.
- He acknowledged the well-intended initiatives of the federal government in the power sector, adding that efforts initiated last year by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, aimed at paying the debt owed to Gencos, should be supported.
- He also mentioned a federal initiative targeted at increasing access to meters and the separation of independent system operations, among other actions.
“While the intentions behind these initiatives are very good, they can only be achieved through ruthless, result-oriented, and timely execution of the initiatives before this sector collapses, with its attendant consequences,” he added.
- Elumelu used the opportunity of the AGM to call on all those involved in executing the President’s directives on power initiatives to prioritize this critical national task immediately.
“They should expedite action to fully pay the huge debt owed by completing the process already initiated towards the end of last year,” he said.
- He called for the swift delivery of meters, and for transmission infrastructure and other power sector initiatives to be addressed immediately.
He also stressed that special incentives should be put in place to strengthen investment in gas and gas infrastructure development in Nigeria, adding that he believes the new leadership at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will help to accomplish this.