Following the successful listing of its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCOL), has said that it plans to expand its operations beyond the shores of this country to other West African markets and is targeting double digit growth in the next five years.
The Managing Director/CEO, SAHCOL, Mr. Basil Agboarumi, disclosed this at the company’s Fact behind Listing on the NSE, saying the plan would enable it add value to shareholders in a consistent manner.
SAHCOL, which is the first company under the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) privatization programme to successfully finalize an Initial Public Offering (IPO), listed 1.35 billion shares worth N6.29 billion on the Exchange at N4.65 per shares.
It would be recall that following the federal government’s decision to identify key state-owned enterprises from which to extract value and open to private sector expertise, SAHCOL was 100 percent privatized by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and transferred to the Sifax Group in 2009. Agboarumi said the listing followed the need to give Nigerians opportunity to benefit from the company’s success story as well as make it more feasible.
“SAHCOL’s future strategy seeks to create long term shareholder value through profitable operation and expansion of its business beyond Nigeria into other West African markets with a vision to become the leading provider of passenger, ramp and cargo handling services in the West African region,” he said.
“We have a plan in place for strategic alliance of partnership, expansion of our offerings and increasing our visibility in Nigeria and beyond. We will begin to look at cost management and we are projecting 15 percent growth within the next five years,” he added.
He said the firm is strategically positioned to take advantage of growth opportunities in the Nigerian aviation industry, leveraging its established brand and reputation, strategic alliances, technical capacity, state of the art technology and equipment, and fully-trained and experienced staff.
Mr. Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer, NSE, speaking at the event said the listing is a promising development in the country, being that SAHCOL is the first company under the BPE privatization programme to successfully finalize an Initial Public Offering and list its shares on a securities exchange.
Represented by Ms. Tinuade Awe, Executive Director, Regulation, NSE, Onyema said the listing would not only showcase the company as an established player in the aviation sector, but will enable the firm to actualize its strategic vision of becoming the leading provider of passenger, ramp and cargo handling services in West African.