Transcorp Seeks N2b Tax Refund From FG

Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp) is demanding the refund of the N2 billion tax it paid to the Federal Government at its Ughelli Power plant. Its Chairman, Tony Elumelu, stated the company had written to the authorities, demanding a refund of the money and hoped the letter would be accorded attention. He disclosed this while addressing shareholders during the Ninth Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the conglomerate in Abuja at the weekend. He stated they were asked to use a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) when they were acquiring the power plant to enjoy a tax holiday but they were surprised when they were slammed with N2 billion as tax payable to the government. He also told the shareholders that Transcorp Ughelli Power Plant would attain 850megawatt (Mw) by December this year, adding that the availability of gas and the transmission network are the mitigating factors to be looked into. Elumelu stated the power plant was in touch with a Canadian company to explore coal power project to complement its gas activities in the power generation. “It became imperative to look towards coal as the firm realised N2.6 billion profit in its first quarter of this year, a performance which was described as a below what was targeted for the quarter,” he also stated. The reason for the first quarter performance was attributed to “blown up gas pipelines”and lack of gas which affected revenue and profit. For the second year in a row, Transcorp paid out dividends to its shareholders in spite of what the conglomerate described as a challenging year. At the end of the meeting, shareholders approved a dividend of N1.9 billion at six kobo per share as well as the re-appointment of retiring directors. Elumelu said: “Transcorp’s shareholders are generally long term shareholders and we know that in the past, those shareholders have lost money. We have our work cut out for us to help them recover that money and our focus is on planting seeds to grow the company through re-investment of profits among other measures.” He also added that Transcorp has achieved consistency in dividend delivery and corporate stability and now “we are turning our focus to growth. This AGM reiterates our commitment to creating sustainable value for all stakeholders”. The conglomerate’s performance was buoyed by gross earnings, which increased from N18.8 billion to N41.3 billion “a reflection of the first full year of earnings from the power business and the group’s operating profit which also grew from N10.2 billion to N13.6 billion in 2014.” Its Group President/CEO Emmanuel N. Nnorom told shareholders that “the story of Transcorp is a standout among conglomerates in Nigeria and one that gets better each day. Our focus early on was turnaround and stabilisation and this year’s results reiterate this commitment.” For the years ahead, Nnorom stated the conglomerate’s focus is on growth “from hospitality to power, agribusiness to energy, our ability to deliver in the face of strong economic headwinds, as we witness more stability in the economy, we will be able to perform ever better.” As stated by him, the company, has shown it is on track to deliver on its growth and expansion plans, as it achieved N27.6 billion in gross profit and N7.7 billion in profit before tax last year. This is in spite of a size-able exchange loss on foreign currency loans in the power business, capital market volatility, and lower average occupancy in the hospitality business.