Transcorp Hotel Plc has announced the retirement of its chairman and non-executive Director Olorogun O’tega Emerhor. In a statement by the company, it also named Alhaji Abdulqadir Jeli Bello as its new chairman. The decision was taken at the 4th annual general meeting of the company.
Profile of the New Chairman.
The new chairman holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Bayero University Kano.
He became an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountant in 1990 and was subsequently elevated as a fellow of the institute (FCA) in 2016. He also doubles as a fellow of the Institute of Credit Administration.
Alhaji Abdulqadir Bello is a former Executive Director/ Chief Risk Officer of UBA Plc. He comes with an experience of 27 years in banking and financial services. He was at various times the Group Credit Officer of UBA North.
Tony Elumelu the chairman of UBA is also the Chairman of Transcorp Group.
Transcorp Hilton Hotel was established on July 12, 1994. The company owns and operates the Transcorp Hilton Abuja. It holds 100% interest in Transcorp Hotels Calabar and Port Harcourt Limited. It also has interests in Transcorp Ikoyi Limited.
The company was listed on the Nigeria Stock exchange following the issuance of an IPO in 2015. In the last one year, the share price of the hospitality giant has taken a deep plunged also its share price currently trades at ₦1.69. Figures from the financial statement recently released show a fall in revenue from ₦15.3 billion in 2016 to ₦13.8 billion in 2017. Gross profit also fell from ₦11.4 billion in 2016 to ₦10 billion in 2017. Profit before tax also fell sharply from ₦5.2 billion in 2016 to ₦3.6 billion in 2017.
Courtesy: Bloomberg
However, the management claimed the shutting down of the Abuja Airport for 6 weeks in 2017 (from the 8th of March to the 19th of April) had an adverse effect on the revenue of the hotel, as many conferences were shifted or in some cases, cancelled. Hotel room bookings were also affected as it costs the hotel potential guests.
