Economy

Oando Plans Raising Production to Sustain Profitability for Dividend Payment

Published

7 years ago

26/04/2019

By Dipo Olowookere

Group Chief Executive Officer of Oando Plc, Mr Wale Tinubu, has disclosed that the indigenous energy group listed on both the Nigerian and Johannesburg Stock Exchange, will now focus on increasing oil production so as to sustain profitability.

Speaking today on the performance of the company in the first quarter of 2019, the lawyer turned boardroom expert said, “With ICE Brent Crude Oil price currently at a decent level of $74.48 per barrel, our efforts will be geared towards increasing our production to sustain profitability and position us on the path to resumption of dividend payment to our shareholders.”

During the three months ended March 31, 2019, production increased by 11% at 43,745boe/day, compared with 39,556boe/day in the same period of 2018. Oil production in particular increased by 13% from 14,823bbls/day in Q1 2018 to 16,815bbls/day in Q1 2019, whilst natural gas production increased by 18% from 124,910mcf/day in Q1 2018 to 147,163mcf/day in Q1 2019.

Capital expenditure of $19.3 million (N7.0 billion) was incurred in the three months of 2019 compared to $6.6 million (N2.4 billion) in same period in 2018. This consists of $18.5 million (N6.7 billion) at OMLs 60 to 63, $0.5 million (N180.8 million) at OML 56, and $0.3 million (N108.5 million) on other assets.

In Q1 2019, Oando Trading traded approximately 3.8 million barrels of crude oil under various contracts with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and delivered 103,720 MT of refined products. Our trading business continues to solidify its relationships with leading international and local banks, maintaining sizeable and well diversified structured Trade Finance facilities required to support future growth.

Commenting further on the performance of the company, Mr Tinubu said, “Our results reflect the progress made over the last few quarters and provides an indication of our expectation for the year.”

He said, “Now that our debt profile is down by 78% from $2.5 billion as of December 2014 to $558 million currently, and our de-leverage program is 90% complete with most of our non-core operations divested for good value, we can now focus on steady growth in our upstream entity.”

In the period under review, the company’s revenue was N168.0 billion, an increase of 12% compared to the same period in 2018 (N150.6 billion) primarily driven by an 11% increase in production, and an 11% growth in traded volumes compared to prior year.

In addition, operating Profit for the period was N17.1 billion, an increase of 15% compared to the same period in 2018 (N14.9 billion). This was primarily driven by higher revenue as well as the profit realized on the disposal of our residual interest in Axxela Limited.

Profit-After-Tax for the period was N4.6 billion, an increase of 11% compared to the same period in 2018 (N4.2 billion). This was primarily driven by a 15% increase in Operating Profit.

Total Group Borrowings for the period stood at N200.9 billion, a 5% decrease from FYE 2018 (N210.9 billion) whilst in our upstream specifically, our borrowings reduced by 8% to $234.3 million compared to $255.6 million in FYE 2018. Since FYE 2014, the Group has reduced its debt by 58% from N473.3 billion while our upstream borrowings have reduced by approximately 71% from $801.6 million in 2014 to $234.3 million (Q1 2019).

Oando said looking ahead, it expects prices to remain at their current levels in the near term. Oil prices have recovered to over $74 per barrel as at the end of April 2019 after reaching a low of just over $50 per barrel at the end of 2018.

“As a business, our focus will be largely on driving profitability via growth in our upstream business and achieving further reduction of borrowings.

“In the upstream, we will pursue production growth initiatives through strategic alliances, whilst ensuring operational efficiency and fiscal prudence. We will also continue to work with our partners to achieve cost optimization on our Joint Venture operations, ensuring the gains from higher revenues are not lost to increasing operating costs.

“Our trading business’s primary focus will be geared towards growing our existing market share in Nigeria while leveraging on our relationships with international financiers,” the firm said.

Economy

NBA Demands Suspension of Controversial Tax Laws

Published

2 hours ago

24/12/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.

In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.

A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.

To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”

“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.

It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”

“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.

“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.

“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.

“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.

Economy

MRS Oil, Two Others Raise NASD Bourse Higher by 0.52%

Published

3 hours ago

24/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.

The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.

Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.

Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.

The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.

By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.

Economy

NGX All-Share Index Soars to 153,354.13 points

Published

4 hours ago

24/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.

The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.

Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.

Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.

At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.

This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.

VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.

In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.