SAHCOL record 4.43 per cent annual growth
Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) Plc said it has consistently recorded 4.43 per cent annual revenue growth since 2009 when the company was privatised.
SAHCOL also said that its import warehouse could accommodate about three million tonnage of cargo monthly with six freezers and refrigerators at its warehouses.
SAHCO also called on the Federal Government to intervene in the current handling charges imposed on foreign carriers in the country, saying that the ground handling companies are underpaid by the airlines.
Speaking yesterday at its corporate headquarters at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, (MMA), Lagos, after the tour of its facilities, Mr. Basil Agboarumi, the Managing Director of the company told journalists that over the years, SAHCO had recorded tremendous growth, remarkable improvements and had added value to aviation equipment in Nigeria.
According to him, the market share of SAHCO had grown from 21 per cent in 2009 to over 40 per cent in 2018, while its revenues had increased by over 100 per cent post privatisation.
Agboarumi, explained further that the ground handling company also recorded improved profitability with a five-year average operating and profit margin of 12.1 per cent and 11.6 per cent respectively by the end of December 2017.
He added: “This growth has not gone unnoticed in the aviation industry, and thus SAHCO has received multiple awards for its work and contribution to the aviation development in Nigeria.”
Speaking on ground handling charges, Agboarumi lamented that despite the inflation in the country over the years, the ground handling rates remained the same.
He explained that SAHCO had huge state-of-the-art ground handling equipment it needed to maintain and serviced regularly, saying that the current rates paid by airlines would not make it to expand its facilities.
He, however, said that discussions were ongoing to address the situation, but called on the government to intervene in the situation to bring sanity to the system.
“We are underpaid for the services that we render as a ground handling company. For a very long time, handling business in Nigeria has been static despite the inflation in the country over the years.
“We have huge facilities that we need to service and maintain regularly and we still have other running costs that we have to handle. The ground handling companies need to survive. Our charges are not commensurate with our services.
Besides, Mr. Olajide Kafidipe said that the import was the best in the West African region with capacity for three million tonnes monthly.
He added that the facility could accommodate between 40 to 50 aircraft cargo, stressing that in spite of this, the management was still striving to improve the equipment.
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