AIR TRANSPORT : ADC Reports Record Net Profit of CFAF 9.2 Billion in 2024

(LVDE) – This achievement, which doubles last year’s results, also marks the best performance of Aéroports du Cameroun (ADC) in the past five years.

In 2024, Aéroports du Cameroun (ADC) posted an impressive net profit of CFAF 9.2 billion, more than double the CFAF 4.4 billion achieved in 2023. According to recently published official data, this figure represents the company’s strongest performance in five years.

ADC’s financial trajectory has seen ups and downs, beginning with a net profit of CFAF 6.9 billion in 2019, followed by a CFAF 1.9 billion loss in 2020 due to the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the company gradually recovered its accounts : CFAF 4.2 billion in 2021, CFAF 3.2 billion in 2022, and CFAF 4.4 billion last year, before reaching a new peak in 2024.

This exceptional performance is driven by steady revenue growth, which rose from CFAF 35.2 billion in 2023 to CFAF 36.7 billion in 2024, an increase of 4.2%. This return to pre-pandemic revenue levels—around CFAF 35 billion—is a positive sign for the company. In 2020, revenues had plummeted by nearly half due to the collapse of air traffic. Since 2021, ADC has slowly regained upward momentum.

Management attributes these results to the recovery of air traffic, but also to internal reforms implemented to comply with OHADA regulations and the 2017 decree on public enterprises. Initiatives such as stronger planning, improved governance, and continuous executive training were crucial. An internal report highlights that the company established a risk management framework, reducing the number of identified risks from eleven in 2017 to eight in 2023.

These remarkable results come as ADC, along with three other public enterprises, prepares for a stock market listing. The project, managed by Emerald Securities Services Bourse (ESS Bourse), aims to diversify financing sources and enhance transparency in line with community requirements. Although no official timeline has been announced, management assures that the process is moving forward as planned.

However, the sustainability of this performance will depend on the continued recovery of air traffic and the maintenance of strict governance practices. ADC will need not only to sustain this momentum but also to navigate an environment where the uncertainties of air transport and financial market requirements demand constant vigilance.

ADC’s rise is an encouraging signal for the entire Cameroonian aviation sector, which appears to be recovering after years of turbulence. The challenge will be to turn this success into long-term sustainable growth while adapting to market changes. The coming months will be crucial in observing how ADC capitalizes on this positive momentum and prepares for the future.

Esther Grace