The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company PLC (NAHCO), Mr Indranil Gupta, has attributed the success of the company and profit recorded in the 2022 financial year to the strategic relationship management the company has with all the stakeholders and clients.
Gupta equally said the company’s profitability was also enhanced by strategic appointments and recruitment, deeper understanding of the operating environment, a commitment to excellent delivery of service and an outlook for the growth of NAHOC’s business concerns.
While explaining the company’s increase in tariffs for its services, Gupta said that NAHCO increased its tariff not to enhance its revenue, but to meet the increasing cost of doing business.
Gupta said, “For example, year-on-year, operating costs increased by 32 percent while administrative costs increased by 45 percent. The above notwithstanding, the increase in tariffs caused a 41 percent increase in revenue in 2022 and a 270 percent increase in profit after tax (PAT).”
He also explained that with the implementation of the new tariffs, the prices of services have become quite competitive with the rest of Africa, adding that the commitment to safe operations and adherence to standard operating procedures as spelt out in the Ground Handling Agents and Service Level Agreements with client companies.
“The operating environment is quite safe and secure. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and all the other airport authorities are committed to the security of the operating environment, ensuring adherence to safety procedures and enacting policies to cover all identified gaps.
“There are however a few challenges with the timely maintenance of some infrastructure provided by the airport authority like carousels, belts, scanning machines, etc.
“These should be properly maintained to prevent frequent breakdowns which hamper the efficient provision of our services,” Gupta said.
The NAHCO boss observed that the new tariffs have also made the market more attractive to new entrants, but noted that the industry is quite specialised with specific skill set requirements, huge capital investments and strict regulations which may be quite difficult for new entrants to meet.
“NAHCO has several projects which it is currently undertaking including the introduction of new businesses like the agri-exports which achieved its first export of fresh pepper on May 10, the enhancement of our warehouses as well as other technology-related projects to improve service delivery and satisfaction of our clients,” he said.
On the future of cargo freighting, he expressed optimism on behalf of NAHCO that cargo freighting would grow exponentially as it is “contributing massively to the income of Nigeria. That’s why it is strategically positioning itself to be a major player in both imports and exports (especially exports) of shipments.”
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