Economy
Ardova Unsure of Paying Dividend to Shareholders in FY2020
By Dipo Olowookere
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ardova Plc, Mr Olumide Adeosun, has hinted that shareholders of the company may not receive a dividend in the current 2020 financial year.
Mr Adeosun made this disclosure last Thursday when he engaged members of the investing community at a virtual Facts Behind the Figures (FBF) hosted by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The event was put in place by the exchange to allow companies on its trading platform present their financial performance, strategic and operational developments, and future plans to the capital market community.
During the event, which had Business Post as one of the participants, Mr Adeosun said the board and management were still monitoring events and would review the company’s overall performance at the end of the year before taking a decision on the cash reward to investors.
However, he pointed out that last year, the company, while still operating as Forte Oil, paid a dividend to its shareholders and this was an interim dividend of N1.15 for the period ended March 31, 2019.
In June 2019, business mogul, Mr Femi Otedola, completed the sale of Forte Oil to another businessman, Mr Abdulwasiu Sowami, who is the Chairman of Ignite and Chief Executive of Prudent Energy Services Limited. The deal was worth about N65 billion.
After the sale of his entire 982,971,950 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to the new owners, Ignite Investments and Commodities Limited, at N66.01 per unit, shareholders, at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on Tuesday, December 17, 2019, in Lagos, approved the name change of the company to Ardova Plc.
At last Thursday’s event, the CEO said, for now, the firm was making efforts to deliver more value to investors by moving from being an oil company to becoming an integrated energy company.
“In line with our vision of being the most reputable African energy solution brand, committed to driving the continent’s growth, we will leverage innovative technology and commit strongly to delivering superior customer experience.
“In the second half of 2020, our focus will be on: operational efficiency, building a superior customer experience, innovation, and partnerships,” he said.
In his presentation, the Executive Director, Finance and Risk Management, Ardova Plc, Mr Moshood Olajide, stated that in the second quarter of this year, the company grew its gross margin significantly to 7.3 per cent from 5.4 per cent in Q1:2020 and from 6.3 per cent in the corresponding period in 2019.
“This sterling performance in gross margins reflects our resolve to maximise our core earnings and minimize cost.
“Shareholders’ funds also grew by 5.8 per cent YTD to N17.5 billion in H1:2020 (N18.6 billion FY: 2018) as a result of an 11.5 per cent growth in retained earnings.
“Our gearing ratio also improved to 37.8 per cent in H1:2020 compared to 88.6 per cent while our earnings-generating capacity remained sufficient to cover existing debt/borrowing with normalised interest cover printing at 4.3x in H1:2020 relative to 0.7x in H1:2019,” Mr Olajide said.
Economy
FG, States, Local Councils Share N1.969trn FAAC Allocation
By Adedapo Adesanya
A total of N1.969 trillion was shared to the federal government, the 36 state governments and the 774 local government councils from the gross revenue of N2.585 trillion generated by the nation in December 2025.
The money was disbursed to the three tiers of government at the January 2026 Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting held in Abuja.
In a statement issued on Monday by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), Mr Bawa Mokwa, it was stated that the FAAC allocation comprised statutory revenue of N1.084 trillion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N846.507 billion, and Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N38.110 billion.
“Total deduction for cost of collection was N104.697 billion, while total transfers, refunds, and savings were N511.585 billion,” the statement partly read.
It was also revealed that from the N1.969 trillion total distributable revenue, the federal Government received the sum of N653.500 billion, and the state governments received N706.469 billion, the local government councils received N513.272 billion, and the sum of N96.083 billion was shared with the benefiting state as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
He said of the N1.084 trillion distributable statutory revenue, the central government received N520.807 billion, the state governments got N264.160 billion, the local councils were given N203.656 billion, and N96.083 billion was shared to the benefiting states as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
FAAC noted that from the N846.507 billion distributable VAT earnings, the federal government got N126.976 billion, the state governments received N423.254 billion, and the local government councils got N296.277 billion.
From the revenue from EMTL, Mr Mokwa explained that the national government was given N5.717 billion, the state governments got N19.055 billion, and the councils collected N13.338 billion.
He added that the companies’ Income Tax (CIT)/CGT and STD, Import Duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) increased significantly in December, while oil and gas royalty, CET levies and fees increase marginally, with excise duty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT)/Hydrocarbon Tax (HT), and EMTL considerably down.
Economy
Oil Exports to Drop as Shell Commences Maintenance on Bonga FPSO
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s oil exports will drop in February following the shutdown of the Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel scheduled for turnaround maintenance.
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) Limited confirmed the development in a statement issued, adding that gas output will also decline during the maintenance period.
This comes as SNEPCo begun turnaround maintenance on the Bonga FPSO, the statement signed by its Communications Manager, Mrs Gladys Afam-Anadu, said, describing the exercise as a statutory integrity assurance programme designed to extend the facility’s operational lifespan.
SNEPCo Managing Director, Mr Ronald Adams, said the maintenance would ensure safe, efficient operations for another 15 years.
“The scheduled maintenance is designed to reduce unplanned deferments and strengthen the asset’s overall resilience.
“We expect to resume operations in March following completion of the turnaround,” he said.
Mr Adams said the scope included inspections, certification, regulatory checks, integrity upgrades, engineering modifications and subsea assurance activities.
“The FPSO, about 120 kilometres offshore in over 1,000 metres of water, can produce 225,000 barrels of oil daily.
“It also produces 150 million standard cubic feet of gas per day,” he said.
He said maintaining the facility was critical to Nigeria’s production stability, energy security and revenue objectives.
Mr Adams noted that the 2024 Final Investment Decision on Bonga North increased the importance of the FPSO’s reliability. He said the turnaround would prepare the facility for additional volumes from the Bonga North subsea tie-back project.
According to him, the last turnaround maintenance was conducted in October 2022.
“On February 1, 2023, the asset produced its one billionth barrel since operations began in 2005,” Mr Adams said.
SNEPCo operates the Bonga field in partnership with Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited, under a Production Sharing Contract with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
The last turnaround maintenance activity on the FPSO took place in October 2022. On February 1, the following year, the asset delivered its 1 billionth barrel of oil since production commenced in 2005.
Economy
Nigeria Earns N1.17trn from Petroleum Sector in November 2025
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria earned N1.17 trillion from the oil and gas industry in November 2025, lower than the N1.396 trillion generated in October 2025 by 16.2 per cent, according to data presented to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The CBN, in the latest data available, noted that the N1.17 trillion earnings from the petroleum industry in November 2025 represented 96.4 per cent of the N1.214 trillion revenue budgeted for the sector for the month under review.
In comparison, revenue from the petroleum industry in October 2025 represented 94.71 per cent of the N1.474 trillion budgeted for the sector in the month.
In its breakdown of revenue from the oil and gas industry in November 2025, the central bank stated that the country earned N37.134 billion from crude oil sales, climbing by 395.58 per cent from N7.493 trillion recorded in the previous month; while revenue from gas sales appreciated by 25.22 per cent to N7.265 billion in November, compared with N5.802 billion recorded in October 2025.
Furthermore, the CBN noted that revenue from crude oil royalties dipped by 25.6 per cent, from N790.086 billion in October 2025 to N587.865 billion in November; while miscellaneous oil revenue more than doubled to N1.356 billion, from N447.279 million in October 2025.
Also, it stated that royalties from gas dipped by 38.1 per cent to N9.405 billion in November, from N15.195 billion in October, while the country earned N51.842 billion from gas flare penalties in November 2025, down from N61.898 billion recorded in the previous month.
The apex bank added that revenue from companies’ income tax (CIT) from upstream oil industry operations stood at N106.106 billion in the month under review, as against N73.025 billion in October 2025.
It also stated that revenue from Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) stood at N301.471 billion; rentals – N775.162 million; while taxes stood at N67.242 billion in November 2025; as against N242.621 billion, N3.197 billion, and N196.277 billion in October 2025.
In addition, the apex bank reported that from the country’s oil earnings in November 2025, N18.163 billion was deducted for 13 per cent refund on subsidy, priority projects and Police Trust Fund from 1999 to 2021; while N2.872 billion was deducted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited in respect of its 13 per cent management fee and frontier exploration fund.
It added that N26.401 billion was deducted and collected by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) in October 2025, being four per cent cost of collection; while N49.768 billion was transferred to the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund from gas flare penalties in the same month.
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