Chinwendu Obienyi
Due to the travel restrictions occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, the revenues of Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL) Plc and Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO) declined by N6.67 billion in the first six months (H1) of 2020.
Investigations by Daily Sun reveal that financial results of the two aviation companies dipped as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions. For instance, SAHCOL recorded a revenue of N3.092 billion, showing a decline of 11.9 per cent from N3.511 billion posted in the corresponding period of 2019 while its gross profit stood at N1.219 billion as against N1.510 billion.
Further analysis showed the company’s administrative expenses were reduced from N1.153 billion to N1.108 billion, making the company to close the H1 with a profit before tax (PBT) of N143.491 million. However, profit after tax (PAT) dipped by 93 per cent from N171.503 million to N11.428 million.
On the other hand, NAHCO reported a decline in revenue to N3.6 billion from N4.8 billion due to a decline in the passenger/aircraft handling to N1.4 billion from N2.6 billion and reduction in the leasing to N78.9 million from N123.8 million.
Further analysis of the company’s financial results revealed a loss of N143.18 million for the half year which ended June 30, 2020, as against a profit of N467.259 million reported in the same period of 2019.
The company, in a report obtained from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), posted a loss before tax of N179.99 million in H1 2020, compared to a profit before tax of N579.595 million in H1 2019.
However, cargo handling from the aviation companies improved. For example, SAHCOL revenues from cargo handling – income increased by 16.04 per cent to N2.2 billion in the current period, compared with N1.9 billion in the same period last year while revenues from cargo handling – export increased by 8.26 per cent to N146.7 million in the period under review, relative to N135.5 million in the same period last year.
For NAHCO, revenue generated from cargo handling grew to N2 billion from N1.9 billion recorded in 2019.
It is expected that the performance of the aviation companies would improve following the lifting of foreign travel ban. However, things may not transform so soon, due to the fact that the conditions passengers have to meet before travel, may be overwhelming for some people to go through; thus, the number of travelers is not expected to peak yet.
The shares of SAHCOL currently trade at N2.93 per unit while NAHCO share price stands at N2.05 after closing friday’s trading session on the NSE at 2.50 per cent.