Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has taken Aero Contractors back to profitability following its takeover of the management of the airline in 2016.
The takeover led to the dissolution of its board and the subsequent appointment of a manager to run it in an interim capacity.
Against the backdrop, the incumbent management said the airline has achieved a significant financial turnaround, reducing its liabilities by 33 per cent and recording an 18 per cent profit margin in 2024, a sharp contrast to the 69 per cent loss recorded in 2022.
Reacting to the development, Managing Director of AMCON, Gbenga Alade, told media executives on Thursday in Lagos that the new management of the airline had been able to turn around its fortune with two aircraft they got from the Cross River state government.
He said: “Right now, they have only two aircraft flying and yet they were able to make money from them and the two aircraft did not even belong to them. They were given to them to manage by the Cross River State Government. They do not even have an aircraft of their own. The ones they have had problems, and they are trying to fix them.
“Now that they have started to make a profit, they are creating a pool of funds to refurbish their aircraft. They also have plans to bring five more 737, 500 series very soon on a dry lease arrangement.”
He added that the same Cross River state government has given the airline an additional two aircraft.
Alade told the editors to reflect on how the airline would transform the market with almost 10 aircraft, remarking that it is an airline to watch out for.
“If they do not have their aircraft but leasing and hiring engines to fly and can make a profit, imagine what will happen if they have their own,” Alade enthused.
He said that is a good example of an airline that is easy to transform and that is one of the success stories of AMCON.
He described the Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Ado Sanusi, as a pragmatic leader with deep knowledge of the market, business as well as a man with integrity.
The recent development, the AMCON boss said, makes a whole lot of difference, which is why the rebound of Aero, one of the airlines under the AMCON aviation portfolio, should be celebrated as one of the many AMCON success stories.
The AMCON boss added that the corporation would not be deterred from recovering the huge outstanding N4 trillion in its books no matter the gang up by obligors who have done serious damage to the economy of Nigeria with no intention whatsoever to repay their debt. He said this class of obligors is unfortunately the high and mighty who have chosen to hide under the technicalities of the law to avoid repayment of their debt.
He commended the Judiciary for the support in AMCON’s recovery mandate because most of the outstanding hardcore recoveries are pending in different courts across the country from the Federal High Court to the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court. He also commended the collaboration and support of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the National Assembly, the police, and the media in helping the AMCON recovery mandate, which he described as a national assignment.
