Transcorp Energy grew its profit from N90.3 billion in 2022 to N142 billion in 2023, representing a 57 per cent increase.

The energy firm which is a subsidiary of Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp Group) stated this in Abuja yesterday during its 11th yearly general meeting, the first since the company went public.

Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the Board, Emmanuel Nnorom, highlighted Transcorp Power’s achievements over the past year, while assuring shareholders of the company’s commitment to maintaining its exceptional financial results and improving the lives of Nigerians.

The company also declared final dividends of N3.13 kobo per share for its shareholders.

He said: “Last year’s strong performance is a testament to the resilience of our business strategies, underpinned by a culture of strong corporate governance. We know that with our strategy and the dedication of our team, we will continue to deliver exceptional value to all stakeholders.”

Profit before tax surged by 84 per cent amounting to N52.8 billion in 2023, compared to N28.6 billion in the same period last year.

The company alluded to the increase in profit to increase in tariff, operational efficiency gains and cost optimization in the year.

Profit after tax also improved by 75 per cent year-on-year to N30.2 billion from N17.3 billion in the same period last year while total assets grew by 33 per cent to N223.4 billion in full-year 2023, up from N168.2 billion in December 2022.

Other notable achievements included cost to cost-to-income ratio of 63 per cent, a debt-to-asset ratio of 16.7 per cent and a debt-to-equity ratio of 64 per cent. Interest cover was eight times, return on equity was 52 per cent and return on asset was 13.53 per cent, showing strong financial stability for the business.

The ravaging inflation hurt the bottom line of the company as operating expenses saw an increase of 70 per cent year-on-year, totalling N10.8 billion in 2023, reflecting the impact of inflation.

Net finance cost increased by 64 per cent to N11.86 billion, on account of foreign currency loans that the company has fully offset.

Additionally, operating profit margin grew to 45 per cent compared to 40 per cent in 2022, while gross profit margin climbed to 53 per cent compared with 47 per cent in 2022.

The board chair noted that 2023 marked a year of strong financial performance amid much uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment.

On his part, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Transcorp Power, Peter Ikenga, said the focus of the power company remains to maintain the highest level of discipline in carrying out the required maintenance activities to attain an availability target of over 90 per cent and recover plant available capacity to 740MW by end 2024 and 900MW by end 2025.

He added: “In the medium term, we plan to expand the plant capacity by reducing our carbon footprint with the inclusion of waste heat recovery systems with steam turbine technology and effectively transform our plant to a combined cycle plant. This will potentially increase the plant installed capacity by 200 – 250MW.”

In the long term, he stated that plans are underway to diversify the company’s energy mix, incorporating renewable energy technologies, saying, “Key targets include solar and hydropower generation to boost overall energy base for our operation, targeting underserved and unserved sectors in Nigeria and cross-border.”

Transcorp Energy is also partnering with Société Beninoise d’Energie Electrique (SBEE) of the Republic of Benin with cross-border electricity sales accounting for 18 per cent of revenue in 2023, up from 13 per cent in 2022.