SAHCO to close initial public offering January 9th

Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO) has announced that the Initial Public Offering (IPO) for the sale of its 406,074,000 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N44.65 per share, which commenced on Monday, November 12,2018, will come to a close on Wednesday, January 09, 2019.

The sale of SAHCO’s Initial Public Offering which is handled by two Issuing Houses-Vetiva Capital Market Limited; the lead Issuing House, and Cordros Capital; the Joint Issuing House, got the company enlisted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The signing ceremony of the enlistment, which took place in Lagos, was witnessed by the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr Alex Okoh, SAHCO’s management and shareholders, and other stakeholders.

According to Taiwo Olayinka Afolabi, chairman, SAHCO, “the IPO is in line with the Share Sale Purchase Agreement, SSPA to divest 406,074,000 Ordinary Shares of 50 Kobo each representing 30percent of the entire issued and fully paid up Ordinary Shares of SAHCO. We have given investors an opportunity to become part owners of SAHCO, the leading aviation ground handling company in Nigeria, which is currently 100 per cent owned by Sifax  group.”

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Afolabi further stated that the Ordinary Shares being offered was allotted on the basis of equality amongst the 360 Federal constituencies and the Federal Capital Territory, thus, giving every Nigerian a chance to become part owners of SAHCO. ”

Reacting to the IPO, Alex Okoh, director-general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), said that one of the first rule of listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange is that a company must be profitable. In his words: “SAHCO has been growing in profitability in the past five years with an operating margin of 12.1 percent and profit margin of 11.6 percent, and viable projections ahead.

“Since its privatization in 2009, SAHCO has grown its market share from 21 percent in 2009 to over 40 percent, and its revenues have grown by over 100 percent. And at the end of December 2017, SAHCO maintained a stable operating performance with a compounded annual revenue growth rate of 4.43 percent.”

Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc is the leading ground handling aviation service provider in Nigeria. SAHCO’s services include passenger handling, ramp handling, cargo handling, aviation security, premium lounge and baggage reconciliation services.

SAHCO was carved out of the defunct Nigeria Airways Limited during the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Aviation’s reform of 1996. It was formally known as Skypower Aviation Handling Company Limited, before it was privatized and handed over to the Sifax Group on the 23rd of December 2009. It is fully owned by the Sifax group and was incorporated as an Aviation Ground Handling Service Provider under the Nigerian Company & Allied Matters Act of 1990.