EXCITING NEWS: TNG WhatsApp Channel is LIVE…
Subscribe for FREE to get LIVE NEWS UPDATE. Click here to subscribe!
…says Transcorp not in a hurry to join Stock Exchange
… Otedela and I are brothers
Business mogul, Tony Elumelu in a chat with Arise bared it all about the landmarks of Transcorp in recent years in different sectors of the Nigerian economy and the mileages recorded in power generation to better the lives of Nigerians. He also espoused much about his friend Multi Billionnaire Femi Otedela describing as his brother and the only guy he follows on Instagram and the other person is his wife.
Hear him:
What were the highlights of the AGM for Transcorp today and what key decisions and resolutions were made by the shareholders and the directors of the company?
A: Today was our 17th AGM and I will say the meeting was in two parts. First the shareholders commended the board and the management for a great job that they have done.
One of the shareholders Dr Farouk spoke about the company paying 500% increase in dividends payment and he was also impressed that we are building to last, we are building Transcorp and not siphoning profits away, but making sure that we reinvest and retain earnings.
He reminded us that Warren Buffet said that companies that retain earnings and profits are companies he invests in; so he commended management and he requested the investing public to take advantage of the opportunities in Transcorp to invest more.
On the other part we had some resolutions which were passed, the reappointment of all the board members, all board members due for retirement were all duly elected, reelected. Also the auditors were elected and most importantly some business resolutions that will enable the company do more were also passed by shareholders and it was a very good AGM.
What are some of these key resolutions as far as the business operation is concerned as a group?
We like to capacitised and enable management to do what they do because we have in place a company that is the management led by Dr….. and the resolution was give us the enablement in case we see opportunities in the market place to take advantage of this and we have empowered them, the shareholders have duly empowered the board and management to do so.
2022 a very tough financial year and trying to find out how the various business groups like power, oil and gas, hospitality and leisure were able to navigate the macroeconomic area.
The operating environment is tough but we thank God for the quality of leadership of Transcorp. The Group CEO and his team, they’ve done very well in making sure that all the sectors we operate in, the power sector, the hospitality sector, leisure and even the oil and gas, the upcoming sector we stay ahead.
The hospitality business, Transcorp Hilton Hotel is the biggest hotel brand in Africa and they continue to maintain that lead. Owen and Olusola Dupe, the CEO of Transcorp Hotel, she is doing great job and the CEOs of the power business, they are doing very well; so the companies are doing very well.
In terms of our power business, we have increased generation significantly helping to improve access to electricity in Nigeria. The Transcorp Power Ughelli generates about 600megawatts of electricity every day.
Our in store capacity is about 1000megawatts and our generating capacity is over 700, the only reason we cannot even do 750 a day is because of gas limitation but we are integrating our energy play, hopefully from our oil and gas plant, we will be able to pipe gas to Transcorp Power and increase because Nigerians need electricity and that is where we commit to Nigerians.
Transcorp is about improving lives and transforming society we want to transform Nigerian society and we know that power is critical to the transformation of Nigeria and that is what we are doing.
In the hotel area, we are doing very well, recognized world over and I doff my hat for the team who are leading Transcorp, interestingly the CEO of Transcorp Hotel is a woman, the group CEO of Transcorp is a woman and then of course Chris who is driving our Ughelli power plant, he is doing a great job.
Are you looking at taking Transcorp Power for listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange Limited any time soon?
No, I hear that rumour from time to time especially after some other competing institutions were listed on the Exchange. No, we are long term players, we want to grow more and significantly, we believe that there are a few more things we want to do in the power sector so that that sector can actually blossom.
The transmission line has to be fixed and the gas supply has to be fixed and then we believe that when we improve transmission lines and also address the gas supply issue, that will be the right time to do so.
So we are looking at about 5years from now to list Transcorp Power because we believe that in about 5years time, the transmission lines would have been fixed and the gas supply to the power sector would have improve significantly.
There are always opportunities if you see, as we look at what the government is doing, so if there were opportunities to take on more, will you be willing to take on more opportunity and investments in the power sector or oil and gas for example?
Definitely. You know we have a track record, my track record as Tony Elumelu in Nigeria is my business turnaround track record and also creating opportunities for shareholders.
So when we took over Transcorp for instance, it was only Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja that existed, today we are talking about power plant with capacity of about 2000megawatts that we have invested in.
So we know how to grow businesses, we know how to turnaround businesses and we know how to smell opportunities when they arise.
So, it is just starting and that is why I am happy that today, a lot more interest is being shown in Transcorp shares.
So talking about the share increase and all that, is it all about buying in of majority shares, big shares in Transcorp, we have seen for example the market reopen for the week with more than a billion shares being traded in the market, the stock was up roughly 10%, this buying interest is about what is in the news about Femi Otedola coming in as a big player buyer of Transcorp shares?
No, first Femi Otedola is a very good friend, there are only two people l follow on Instagram, my wife and Femi Otedola that tells you the level of friendship that we have. Is a man I admire and I respect and he is a friend, in fact we actually call ourselves brothers.
So I welcome Femi Otedola’s investment in Transcorp, that is what we want, I mean come on, people get sentimental and emotional at times for no reason.
But two of you are in the same business, he is into power business, you are into power business.
And what is wrong, there can be a cross roads. You know abroad or even in Nigeria, we go on financial road show, and what do we do? We go talk to investors to say please come and invest in our company.
I am happy to see an indigenous active investor community and I am happy that Femi is investing in locally and he should be commended for that and I also welcome his investment in Transcorp because the more people show interest in the activities, in the performance of the company, the more people invest in the company, the better for our shareholders.
You know, you want to make your stock investors toast and I am happy that Transcorp is becoming investors toast.
If you remembered, about 10years ago before we took over Transcorp, people were not interested in Transcorp, even people who own shares, when I wanted to buy over Transcorp, people who owned shares of Transcorp didn’t even find their certificate because they’ve lost confidence in the company.
Today under our leadership, Transcorp has consistently 5years over now paid dividend every year, it never happened in the history of the company before. There is capital appreciation for the company.
So when friends and investing public come to invest in company like this, it’s a validation, it tells you that they believe in your story, they believe in your vision, they believe in your management, they believe in your leadership, they believe in your competence, that is what has been demonstrated.
And I like my friend to come on board and I like the fact that he is on board and I look forward to working with him for us to take Transcorp to greater heights.