Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (TRANSCORP) is positioned to boost Nigeria’s power needs through its recently acquired Ugheli Power plant in the Niger delta and plans to boost its output to 700 megawatts by the end of the year after spending as much as $300 million on turbine repairs, Chief Executive Officer Obinna Ufudo said.
An increase in power generation capacity will help treble pretax profit to 30 billion naira ($185 million) this year, Ufudo said. “With the kind of expansion we plan in key sectors we operate, our vision is to make about N160 billion in profit by 2018,” he said.
Nigeria sold control of 14 power companies to new owners last year, including Siemens AG, Korea Electric Power Corp. (015760) and Lagos-based Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc, to attract private investment to reduce blackouts.
Transcorp plans to raise as much as $1 billion to build power plants as it seeks to triple profit in 2014.
“We think we can reach financial close by January 2015 and start construction” of a 1,000 megawatt gas plant, Ufudo, said.
The company which has interests in industries ranging from agriculture to oil, will explore fundraising options including bank loans, selling shares or bonds, Ufudo stated.
Transcorp was set up in 2004 to invest in industries in Africa’s biggest economy, with 44 percent stake owned by the Chairman, Tony Elumelu.
Its market capitalization has increased almost tenfold to 149.4 billion naira since 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The shares fell 0.8 percent to 3.86 naira by the close in Lagos yesterday.
It is awaiting regulatory approval to begin pumping oil from its Lease 281 in the Niger River delta, Ufudo said. Transcorp jointly owns an oil lease with Johannesburg-based SacOil Holding Limited and London-based Energy Equity Resources Limited.
