By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the National Engineering and Technical Company Limited (NETCO), has recorded a profit before tax of N3.257 billion for 2017 financial year.
This showed a decreased by 34 percent in the year under review when compared with N4.90 billion of the previous years.
The drop, according to the NETCO Board Chairman, who is also NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, Mr Bello Rabiu, was attributable to the foreign exchange gains which constituted 56 percent before tax in 2016 as compared to 4.8 percent gain in 2017.
A breakdown of the firm’s 2017 earnings showed that there was an increase in revenue by 122 percent from N10.13 billion in the previous year to N22.46 billion in the year under review.
Speaking last Thursday at the company’s 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, Mr Rabiu said the operating profit of NETCO increased by 134 percent from N0.89 billion in 2016 to N2.07 billion in 2017.
He noted that the impressive result was the outcome of improved performance in project execution and cost reduction measures put in place during the period, in addition to and the new addition of construction and procurement portfolios in the company’s activities basket.
The COO Upstream said the remarkable figures were made possible through sustained efforts on the part of the Company to cash in on the strong support of the Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Dr Maikanti Baru and the shareholders.
“The strong support of the GMD, that of the shareholders, in addition to award of some big-ticket jobs which NETCO delivered on time, within budget and without compromising on quality of service delivery, made it possible for the remarkable figures. The performance has reinforced to all stakeholders that given the right environment, NETCO is poised to greater heights,” he said.
Mr Rabiu said for the first time since the establishment of NETCO, the company was declaring the highest dividend in any given year of N750 million to its shareholders at the AGM.
Speaking while receiving the cheque for the dividend, Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr Maikanti Baru, commended the management of NETCO for the unprecedented performance.
He assured the company of his continued support, stressing that based on its performance, he would ensure NETCO got more projects, especially in the gas sector.
He congratulated the outgoing MD of NETCO, Engr. Siky Aliyu, for leaving a legacy behind for his successor and expressed optimism that the company would perform better next year.
Earlier, Managing Director of NETCO, Engr. Siky Aliyu, said the company set a target to perform 600,000 man-hours of work in 2018, adding that it would continue to explore new opportunities and improve on service delivery to engender more confidence in its clients and stakeholders.
The MD, who announced his retirement from the corporation with effect from May, 2018, said he was happy to leave behind a company that has the largest Information Technology facilities in the Engineering field with a wide range of choice software for process simulations, plant modelling, structural analysis, stress analysis, designing of control systems engineering, drafting and project management.
NETCO was established in 1989 to acquire Engineering Technology through direct involvement in all aspects of Engineering in the Oil and Gas and non-oil sectors of the economy. NETCO is Nigeria’s premier indigenous Engineering Company with the strategic vision of providing Basic and Detailed Engineering, Procurement, construction Supervision and Project Management services, using state-of-the-art technology. It recently added construction and procurement to its portfolios in the industry.
Dipo Olowookere 
Adedapo Adesanya