Transcorp Hotels Plc said the hospitality group aims to expand its operational footprints across the country and other African countries.
Managing Director/CEO of Transcorp Hotels, Dupe Olusola, disclosed this during an investor call on Friday.
This disclosure comes after the company informed investors through a corporate filing with the Nigerian Exchange Limited that it had divested 100% of its stake in Transcorp Hotels Calabar Limited to Eco Travels and Tours, a domestic hospitality company.
Olusola said the focus for the company going forward is expansion, ensuring that it could achieve more footprints in the hospitality industry not only in Abuja but across Nigeria and then moving into Africa.
The company aims
He noted that the The company aims to convert the existing warehouse at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja in an event/lifestyle center with a capacity of 3,000 – 5,000 people.
Olusola explained that the event centre, which is estimated to be delivered this year, aims to cater to the event needs of Transcorp’s existing clientele as well as the general public.
He said the company also aims to complete a 315-key 5-star hotel with leisure and lifestyle center features, located in the heart of Ikoyi, Lagos by 2027.
The project, according to her, will consist of a leisure and event garden, a spa/gym, a co-working space, a cafe, a 5-star restaurant, retail shops and a UBA experience centre.
- “We are very confident that this would encourage and attract further businesses going outside Nigeria to us. We are also excited to talk about the development of a new five-star hotel in Ikoyi, Lagos.”
- On its key performance drivers, the MD said: “To ensure our performance, we will focus on key growth drivers to ensure that we are continuously in a position to benefit from the changing industry and economy as well. Improved use of our digital platform, Aura, ensures we can revolutionize the way we drive bookings, engage with our guests and grow revenue.
- “Also important is the need to upgrade our technology and enrich the experience of our guests. We are dedicated to optimizing our operating costs without sacrificing quality. We are confident and optimistic that we will maintain our performance until 2024 and beyond.”
Financial performance
Meanwhile, the Chief Financial Officer of Transcorp Hotels, Oluwatobiloba Ojerinde, in her presentation, shared the company’s financial results for the year ended December 2023 and the factors driving the performance.
Ojerinde said the company recorded a gross profit growth of about 72% in 2023. It also recorded a 24% increase in operating expenses from N13.9 billion in 2022 to N17.3 billion in 2023, driven by improved operational activities.
- “At this point, it is worth noting that we experienced an increase in the ratio of revenue to costs, which decreased from 91% to 85% in 2023, which reflects the emphasis we placed on the operational efficiency of the company, which allowed us to develop many expenses – saving strategies despite inflation and devaluation of the naira affecting our operations.
- “On the revenue side, we are positioned to take advantage of the recovery in the economy, increased business activity and the political season. This drove revenue across all our business lines. We also took lessons from the COVID era and continued to diversify,” he said.