Nigeria’s burgeoning airline, Med-View Airline, has initiated a new culture of financial transparency and accountability in the domestic air transport industry after declaring N1.825 billion profit for the year 2017.
The airline, which listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on January 31, 2017, announced its audited financial statement for the year 2017 recently, indicating that Gross revenue increased from N26 billion in 2016 to N36 billion in 2017.
Other marginal revelations show that Profit before Tax literally doubled from N840 million in 2016 to N1.5 billion in 2017, while Profit after Tax also increased from N772 million in 2016 to N1.2 billion in 2017.
The statement revealed that the airline derived more revenue from its international operations than its domestic operations.
With N36.9 billion gross revenue in 2017, the airline made a 41.9 per cent increase compared to the N26 billion it made in the corresponding period of 2016.
The company made N8.2 billion from Hajj and cargo operations which is a 46 per cent increase from the N5.6 billion it made in 2016.
From domestic operations, the airline realized N14.8 billion, a 27.5 per cent increase from N11.6 billion made in 2016.
From regional international operations, the company generated N13.8 billion, a 58.6 per cent increase from the N8.7 billion made in the same period of 2016.
Further breakdown indicates that international operations (Cargo and regional operations) comprised 30 per cent of the N26 billion generated in 2016. This, however, increased to 36 per cent of the N36.9 billion realized in 2017.
The airline also earned 12.86 Kobo per share, an increase of 5.89 Kobo from 7.93 kobo in 2016.
Impressed with its performance, the airline has proposed a 3 kobo dividend for shareholders this year, indicating a 23.3 per cent payout ratio. The payout ratio is the proportion of a company’s earnings paid as dividend to shareholders at the end of every financial year.
In a notice sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the airline seeks approval of shareholders for an offer of 2.2 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo at a price to be determined by the airline’s board of directors before the end of Q1, 2018.
The offer, as presumed, is in the best interest of the company which aims to double its earnings this year on a sound momentum catalyzed by last year’s performance.
The airline currently operates 9 scheduled flights on international routes – Accra, Abidjan, Conakry, Dakar, Dubai, Freetown, Jeddah, London and Monrovia with an airworthy fleet of 7, but seeks to boost its size to match its expansion plans.
Med-View is the first Nigerian airline to have gone public, and the first to set a record of profit declaration in the history of the nation’s aviation industry.