By Dipo Olowookere
One of the leading Nigerian indigenous oil and gas companies, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, has released its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018.
The firm, listed on both the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), improved its revenue by 65 percent to N228 billion from N138 billion.
This was as the finance income rose by 128.66 percent to N3 billion from N1.3 billion achieved in the 2017 financial year.
Seplat disclosed in the statements that its gross profit for the year was N120 billion against N65 billion a year earlier, while the operating profit increased to N95 billion from N34 billion.
It was disclosed in the results on Wednesday that the profit before tax jumped by 480 percent to N73 billion from N13 billion, while the profit after tax depreciated by 45 percent to N45 billion from N81 billion.
Seplat said its full year working interest production of 49,867boepd (comprising 25,669bopd liquids and 145MMscfd gas) within guidance range of 48,000 –55,000 boepd; Uptime on the Trans Forcados System during 2018 was 85 percent (in line with budget), while average reconciliation losses stood at 8 percent
In the period under review, the firm had its license renewed for OMLs 4, 38 and 41 blocks. With this, the company can now operate the facilities till October 21, 2038, adding that the $25.9 million renewal bonus paid ensured that all conditions have been met (renewal bonus included in 2018 capex).
In the first quarter of 2018, Seplat successfully concluded its debt refinancing, including debut $350 million bond which diversifies the long-term capital base and new four year $300 million RCF.
Commenting on the results, Austin Avuru, Seplat’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “Seplat has delivered an excellent operational and financial performance resulting in robust profitability and cash flow generation providing us with an extremely solid foundation for growth in the coming years.
“At our core assets in the West, OMLs 4, 38 and 41, the extension of the license to 2038 means that we can confidently plan and invest long into the future to realise the full potential of those blocks.
“As we continue to enhance production and revenue diversification with new wells scheduled at OML 53 in the East, the board took the Final Investment Decision to invest in the large scale ANOH gas and condensate development which will form the next phase of transformational growth for our gas business.
“Disciplined capital allocation continues to remain at the core of our activities evidenced by our continual deleveraging of our debt levels to the current balance of $350 million.
“In 2018, we reinstated the dividend, increased capital investments and with the resources and headroom in our capital structure, we are equipped to capitalise on organic and inorganic growth opportunities as they may arise.”
Meanwhile, the board of Seplat has recommended for approval the payment of a final dividend of $0.05 per share for the financial year, which would be paid on May 23, 2019.
