New contracts boost NAHCO’s earnings outlook

Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (Nahco Aviance) Plc has signed contracts with major airlines for the provision of total handling solutions in a major boost to the West Africa’s largest ground handling company’s earnings outlook.

The contracts included renewal agreements with European giants, Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic. Renewal contract was also signed with African operator, Rwand Air.

Also, NAHCO signed fresh contracts with United Nigeria-Regional, Bellagio and Malaikair.

The contracts with Air France and KLM were for three years and would run till 2028 respectively.  The duration of the contract with Virgin Atlantic was also three years.

The duration for Rwand Air contract was for three years effective October 1, 2025.

Meanwhile, the new contract with United -Regional would be for a period of five years, effective from August 1, 2025. For Bellagio and Malaikair, the contracts were for three and five years respectively.

Group Executive Director, Commercial & Business Development, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (Nahco Aviance) Plc, Prince Saheed Lasisi said NAHCO’s more than 46 years of unblemished excellent service delivery stands it head and shoulder above any other service provider in the industry.

He added that the company is ready to exceed customer’s expectations.

“This is what we have been doing for almost half of a century. We will continue to delight our customers and make our stakeholders happy by exceeding expectations in all aspects of our service offerings. We are always willing and ready to do more,” Lasisi said.

Group Managing Director, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (Nahco Aviance) Plc, Mr. Olumuyiwa Olumekun, said that with the new fleet of equipment NAHCO is deploying, service delivery could only be better.

Bellagio Air, Nigeria’s rising star in aviation, is redefining air travel with a blend of luxury, efficiency, and reliability. Headquartered in the vibrant city of Ikeja, Lagos, Bellagio Air is committed to providing world-class service across key domestic and regional routes.

Malaikair is a regional and customer-focused airline with a mission to bring accessible, affordable, and convenient air travel to Africans, fostering connections between the African and Caribbean regions.

The contracts further strengthened NAHCO’s earnings outlook, after the company recorded significant growth in third quarter.

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Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of NAHCO for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2025 released at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) showed double-digit growths across key performance indicators, strengthening the earnings outlook as the group enters traditionally more months of the year.

The report showed that NAHCO, which had increased dividend payout by 134 per cent for the 2024 business year, closed third quarter 2025 with earnings per share of N6.91, 46.7 per cent increase on N4.71 recorded in the comparable period of 2024. This underlines significant headroom for the group to sustain higher dividend payouts.

NAHCO had distributed N11.58 billion as cash dividends for the 2024 business year, representing a dividend per share of N5.94, compared with N4.95 billion paid for the 2023 business year.

The report showed that total revenue rose by 40.7 per cent from N33.95 billion in third quarter 2024 to N47.76 billion in third quarter 2025, driven by renewed and new business contracts and expanding business activities across the subsidiaries.

Gross profit grew by 37.1 per cent to N28.43 billion in third quarter 2025 as against N20.74 billion in third quarter 2024, showing top-line cost efficiency despite domestic and global inflationary pressures.

Operating profit increased by 40.8 per cent from N12.88 billion to N18.14 billion, underlining the fact that the performance of the company was driven by business operations rather than financial or structural management.

Profit before tax improved by 46 per cent to N17.94 billion in third quarter 2025 compared with N12.29 billion in third quarter 2024. After taxes, net profit stood at N13.46 billion, representing an increase of 46.6 per cent on N9.18 billion recorded in the comparable period of 2024.

The balance sheet of the group also remained strong with total assets rising from N46.95 billion in December 2024 to N48.64 billion by September 2025. Shareholders’ funds also increased from N20.04 billion in December 2024 to N21.92 billion in September 2025.