Twenty Five years ago, when a road transport company was born, many did not give it the chance to survive, let alone, modernizing the way the business is run in Nigeria.
Notably, 25 years after, ABC Transport has made its mark and has become a model in the industry. Notable among the innovations introduced by ABC Transport Plc are-prompt departure time, courteous drivers/crew, and comprehensive safety measures among others.
Hence, it was worth the while when the board and management of ABC Transport converged in Owerri, the Imo state capital to celebrate the company and the Managing Director, Mr. Frank Nneji, whose vision led to the birth of the company.
According to Nneji, “after all, if ABC Transport could achieve all it has achieved under such challenging conditions, the prospects in a business friendly environment are unimaginable! I therefore call on all stakeholders in their various capacities to provide a blueprint that would create more opportunities for successful indigenous start-ups and enterprise.”
Nneji recalled his unpleasant experience during an ill-fated Owerri-Lagos journey 26 years ago, which was characterised by crude practices, like customer abuse, discomfort caused by over loading and ‘attachment seats’, insolence by bus the crew, and a breakdown at Ore. The disappointment drove him into the transportation business in order to make a difference.
“On February 13, 1993, when ABC Transport (then known as Associated Bus Company) commenced operations from 21 Mbaise Road Owerri, many industry watchers wrote us off. We were often referred to as ‘dreamers’ because the model we adopted to run our operations was widely seen as naive and unrealistic.
“As a matter of policy, we adopted an uncompromising focus on the quality of service rendered and gradually began resetting the standards for road transport operations in Nigeria by providing a suitable alternative land travel means for the discerning traveller who would have otherwise gone by air. From then onwards, everything else is history.
“Today, after 25 years, ABC Transport operates from over 35 locations and travels to more than 100 locations daily within and outside Nigeria, and has over 500 vehicles in its fleet. The ABC Group has three subsidiaries and boasts of staff strength of more than 2,000, and its business holding spans passenger operations, consolidated cargo and haulage services, hospitality and tourism.
“It also carries out vehicle assembly through its subsidiary Transit Supports Services {TSS}. ABC Transport was the first and remains the only publicly quoted transport company on the Nigerian capital market. You can see from the above account that ABC Transport is a typical Imo state business expanded to the rest of Nigeria and West Africa.”
One of the highpoints of the celebration was the presentation of two Toyota Hiace mini buses to two of the company’s pioneer drivers, Peter and Leo, in appreciation of their faith in the organisation and accident-free records.
Meanwhile, ABC Transport Plc has released the Group’s audited results for the year ended 31st December 2017, recording a consolidated profit before tax of N766.84m against a loss after tax of N599.79m recorded in 2016. This was conveyed in a statement released to the Nigeria Stock Exchange on the 29th March 2018.
Turnover grew from N6.71bn in 2016 to N7.19bn in 2017 representing an increase of 7.15% while operating loss of N490.85m recorded in 2016 reversed to an impressive profit before tax of N766.84m in 2017. In like manner, a profit after tax of N513.25m was earned by the group in 2017 against a loss after the tax of N599.79m recorded in 2016. While the company re-strategized to fully recover from the economic recession which hit the transport sector badly, growth was majorly driven by the performance of Transit Support Service Ltd, a subsidiary engaged in the Auto assembly and Sales.
