Conoil Plc has filed its comprehensive financial statement with the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), providing a detailed look at its financial performance for the period.
The audited results show that while the downstream petroleum marketer retained a resilient asset base, its bottom line was severely impacted by compressing margins and a sharp rise in financing expenses.
For the full financial year, Conoil Plc reported a sharp 77.1 percent decline in profit after tax (PAT), which fell to ₦2.01 billion from the ₦8.77 billion recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The decline was mirrored in the company’s profit before tax (PBT), which dropped 77.0 percent to ₦2.53 billion, compared to ₦11.00 billion in the prior year. Income tax expenses similarly fell by 76.8 percent to ₦518.17 million from ₦2.23 billion, reflecting the company’s weakened earnings position.
The financial contraction occurred alongside a 6.6 percent drop in top-line revenue, which fell to ₦301.72 billion from ₦323.13 billion, as the company navigated severe macroeconomic and operational pressures within the downstream petroleum market.
Conoil’s cost of sales decreased by 6.1 percent to ₦278.81 billion, a reduction that proved insufficient to offset the drop in revenue. Consequently, gross profit slipped by 13.1 percent to ₦22.91 billion, down from ₦26.35 billion a year earlier.
A major headwind for the downstream company was its finance cost, which surged by a staggering 162.5 percent to ₦10.38 billion, compared with ₦3.95 billion in the previous year.
The rapid rise in interest rates and increased reliance on short-term debt instruments significantly increased debt-servicing requirements, eating deeply into operating margins.
Despite the full-year drop, Conoil recorded a vital turnaround in its fourth quarter (Q4) operations. For the final quarter alone, the company returned to profitability by posting a profit after tax of ₦544.67 million, recovering from a net loss of ₦732.88 million recorded in Q4 of the previous year.
Quarterly revenue also rose significantly during this period to ₦97.89 billion, up from ₦74.00 billion.
On the balance sheet, Conoil’s total assets grew by 21.0 percent to close at ₦139.01 billion, up from ₦114.88 billion in the preceding year. This expansion was driven by increases in inventory values and trade receivables.
However, total liabilities jumped by 32.4 percent to ₦99.94 billion, compared to ₦75.46 billion in the prior year, highlighting increased leverage on the company’s balance sheet. Shareholders’ funds dipped slightly by 1.1 percent to ₦39.07 billion from ₦39.52 billion.
Reflecting the drop in net earnings, earnings per share (EPS) fell by 77.1 percent to 290 kobo, down from 1,264 kobo in the prior year. Due to the earnings squeeze and the need to conserve liquidity amid negative net cash positions driven by bank overdrafts, the company did not declare a dividend for the financial year, a shift from the 350 kobo per share distributed to shareholders previously.