Nigeria’s fast-growing airline, Med-View, has hinted of its plans to declare its first Initial Public Offer (IPO) at the end of this year to mark its two years of listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the airline, Alhaji Munir Bankole, disclosed this at a seminar organized by the League of Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) in Lagos recently.

He said the airline was determined to set the pace as the only Nigerian carrier to have listed on the NSE and would leave its doors open to prospective investors with a view to grow bigger in the near future.

But the core objective of Med-View Plc, according to Bankole, is to adhere to the ideals of high corporate governance standards, operational excellence, professionalism and efficient services for its passengers

“You know we went on listing and we are in the stock market. And this year, by the grace of God, we will do the IPO. Our shareholders have all been informed; we also informed them about the acquisition of our new aircraft,” he said.

This, according to him, is aimed at providing increased returns on investment for its shareholders, while it expands its visibility on local, regional and international routes.

The airline, which started charter operations for Hajj flights in 2007, listed on the NSE with 9.75 billion (9,750,649,400) ordinary shares at N1.50 Per Share on its main board in January 2017, just five years after it metamorphosed into a commercial airline.

Six months after the historic listing, the airline reported a growth of 27 per cent in profit after tax (PAT) to N857 million for the half year ended June 30, 2017, compared with N672 million in the corresponding period of 2016.

The results indicated that gross revenue grew by 48 per cent from N8.7 billion to N13.007 billion in 2017.

Operating cost shot up from N7.748 billion to N9.982 billion, propelled by a rise in aviation fuel cost and cost of lease of aircraft for local operations.

Similarly, N4.506 billion was spent on aviation fuel, showing an increase of 60.2 per cent above the N2.811 billion recorded in 2016. The amount spent on aviation alone accounted for 45 per cent of the total operating cost in 2017, compared with 37 per cent in 2016.

Also, administrative expenses increased marginally from N1.914 billion to N1.978 billion, while finance cost jumped to N171 million, from N55 million in 2016. The rise stemmed from a growth in interest charges on overdraft that soared from N21.3 million in 2016 to N114.636 million in 2017.

Med-view ended the H1 with a profit before tax (PBT) of N945 million, from N739 million and a PAT of N857 million as against N672 million.

To keep track on its core objective, the airline recently acquired a B777 -200ER to boost its fleet and presence on international routes.

The aircraft, which has a capacity of 323 passengers and 25 seats in the Business Class apartment, will be used majorly for Hajj operations. And as the airline hopes to recommence its London operations coming winter, the Chairman said more aircraft will be purchased by the end of August, this year.

With the acquisition of the new aircraft, Medview currently has 5 aircraft in its fleet — B777-200ER, B767-300ER, 3 B737-400 and 500.