By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Nigeria’s conglomerate, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc said on Wednesday its power generating unit at Ughelli Power Plant increased available capacity to 300 percent from takeover.
Emmanuel Nnorom, president/CEO of the conglomerate disclosed during a visit to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) that the development of a sound and executable strategy laid the foundation for remarkable progress; in the just concluded year 2014, “we ramped up generation capacity from 342 mega watts (MW) at December 2013, to 610 MW at the end of 2014 — this translates to a 78 percent increase in available capacity year-over-year and a 300 percent increase from takeover,” he said.
According to Nnorom, in the face of rejection of MW from the grid, Transcorp Power continues to generate at close to capacity when gas supply permits.
He affirmed that the short term post-acquisition operational strategy as set out in 2013 was based largely around the recovery of installed capacity. “At Ughelli Power Plant, the execution of this strategy, led by our “Take Over Team” — comprised of board committee members, plant management, and Thomassen contractors — completed a detailed assessment of the turbines on a case-by-case basis and determined the optimal route for return to operations of each of the turbines,” Nnorom added.
A further review of the conglomerates performance to the Stock Exchange, Nnorom disclosed that its agribusiness unit is partnering Nigerian Bottling Company; makers of Coca-Cola in launching a new line of fruit juice made from concentrate and has announced Transcorp as the sole local-concentrate sourcing partner for the line.
Transcorp agribusiness subsidiary Teragro Commodities Limited processes orange, mango and pineapple concentrates for industrial markets at a processing plant in Benue State.
The 26,500MT capacity Benfruit Plant is the first and only Nigerian-owned and operated juice concentrates processor of its kind in the country and first began producing concentrate for Coca-Cola in 2014.
“The partnership reflects Teragro’s ability to deliver a product that meets international quality standards. The company has its ISO 9001 and FSSC22000 and has proven it can compete with concentrates imported from countries such as the United States, Spain and South Africa, among others,” the CEO of Transcorp said.
Apart from these, Nnorom said the hospitality arm of the conglomerate; Transcorp Hotels Plc will in 2016 embark on the renovation of Transcorp Hilton Abuja on a full renovation of its 670 rooms and onsite facilities.
“This is the first renovation of its kind for the property since 2003 and will feature a total overhaul of existing facilities. The company plans to refurbish rooms, commission a congress centre, upgrade restaurants and the spa area and use the surrounding territory to commission high-end apartments, offering access to hotel facilities, for local wealthy individuals,” he affirmed.
Nnorom further affirmed the renovation comes alongside other key milestones including the development of new properties in Lagos in September of 2015 and Port Harcourt, the addition of a luxury apartment building and the creation of a 5,000 person capacity convention center.
Shares of Transcorp at the close of trading Wednesday on the Nigerian bourse declined 3.95 percent to N2.19 from N2.28 traded previously; losing 0.09 kobo per share.
