By Onu Okorie

Nigeria’s two publicly listed airport ground-handling companies, Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO) and Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO), have posted a combined revenue jump of 380 percent over four years, climbing from ₦12.16 billion in 2022 to ₦58.36 billion in 2026. But the latest figures show that rising operating costs are beginning to eat into the profitability gains that had accompanied the earlier growth.
Profits Slip Even as Revenue Climbs
Combined profit after tax for the two companies had grown steadily alongside revenue for most of the period, rising from just ₦1.28 billion in 2022 to ₦17.01 billion in 2025. In the most recent period, however, that trend reversed: combined profit after tax fell to ₦14.70 billion even as revenue rose by ₦4.97 billion, or 9.3 percent, over the same stretch. Combined profit before tax dropped 7.2 percent, from ₦21.75 billion to ₦20.19 billion, while profit after tax fell more sharply still, down 13.6 percent.
The pressure is coming largely from the cost side of the ledger. Combined cost of sales for the two firms jumped from ₦19.75 billion to ₦27.60 billion — an increase of almost 40 percent that comfortably outpaced the roughly 9 percent rise in revenue.
A Tale of Two Companies
The two listed handlers diverged sharply in how they managed that cost pressure. SAHCO’s revenue rose from ₦21.06 billion to ₦23.01 billion, but its cost of sales surged from ₦6.59 billion to ₦10.75 billion — a jump that overwhelmed the extra revenue. The company generated almost ₦2 billion more in revenue year-on-year but still ended the period with ₦4.29 billion less in profit after tax. SAHCO’s net profit margin fell from about 38.6 percent to 16.7 percent, illustrating how quickly rising costs eroded the economics of its additional sales.
NAHCO told a different story, converting its revenue growth into stronger earnings rather than weaker ones. Its revenue rose 9.3 percent, from ₦32.33 billion to ₦35.35 billion, while profit before tax climbed from ₦11.79 billion to ₦14.37 billion. Profit after tax rose 22.2 percent, from ₦8.88 billion to ₦10.85 billion.
Demand Isn’t the Problem
The contrasting fortunes of the two companies suggest the ground-handling industry’s central challenge is not a shortage of demand — both firms recorded stronger revenue over the period. Instead, the divergence points to cost discipline and operational efficiency as the deciding factors in whether rising business volumes actually translate into stronger bottom lines. NAHCO’s own management has pointed to investments in modern warehouses, ground-handling equipment and workforce training as key to controlling costs even as the company expanded into cargo handling and non-oil export logistics.
For SAHCO, the sharper rise in cost of sales relative to revenue signals a tighter margin environment that the company will likely need to address if it is to keep pace with the profitability gains posted by its listed rival.