…as company approves N2.1trn as final dividend
…begs Nigerians amid persisting fuel scarcity
Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced its audited financial statement for the period ended 31st December 2023, with the top and bottom lines indicating the nation’s oil and gas industry regulator had a good outing as profit after tax rose by 28 percent from N2.548 trillion in 2022 to N3.297 trillion in 2023.
According to NNPCL, the performance was driven by the company’s strategic foresight and operational resilience.
The above disclosure was made yesterday by Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Limited, on the corporation’s X handle (Formerly Twitter), noting that the release of the financial statements was in line with the company’s transparency and accountability.
“The NNPC Limited has released its 2023 Audited Financial Statement (AFS), declaring a net profit of N3.297 trillion at the close of the financial year which ended in December 2023, an increase of over N700 billion (28%) when compared to the 2022 profit of N2.548 trillion,” Soneye said.
“Our fiscal performance reflects both strategic foresight and operational resilience. Despite inherent challenges of our operational and economic environment, we have improved the productivity and the financial performance of this great company,” Soneye quoted Umar Ajiya, Chief Financial Officer of the company, to have said.
According to the financial data of the company, NNPCL posted the first profit in 2020 which was N287 billion. The annual profit rose to N674.1 billion in 2021; N2.548 trillion in 2022, and which was followed up with N3.297 trillion in the year that just ended.
Ajiya further stated that the posting of such impressive returns demonstrated the NNPC’s commitment to sustaining profitability and supporting the attainment of national energy security as stipulated in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
NNPCL’s board chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure said the company’s excellent performance was as a result of the PIA 2021, adding that it was also due to the commitment of the board, management and staff of the company, adding that the company has approved a final dividend of N2.1 trillion, representing a dividend payout ratio of 64.6 percent.
Supporting the views of other board members, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, Executive Vice President, Upstream, said the improved performance of NNPCL was due to the consistent war against crude oil theft in the Niger Delta as the company set target of 2 million barrels per day for 2024.
Dapo Segun, Executive Vice President, Downstream appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience on the long queues that recently surfaced in some stations in Lagos and Abuja, assuring that the company is working with all the relevant stakeholders to address the distribution, evacuation and logistics challenges that caused the problems.
According to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), especially its production data sourced from secondary sources, Nigeria produced an average of 1.307 million barrels per day in 2023, representing an increase of 8.6 percent over a daily production of 1.204 million barrels per day in 2022.
Daily crude oil production has recently risen to 1.6 million barrels per day, raising hope that the 2 million barrels per day is feasible in the medium term.
Crude oil prices were also favourable in 2023, averaging about $75 per barrels through the year.
Meanwhile, Mele Kyari, NNPCL’s GMD, has asked the Nigerian public to disregard the rumours making the rounds that the company still continues to pay subsidy on the premium motor spirit, popularly known as petrol.
The company has equally refuted the claims that it is owing international traders to the tune of $6.8 billion, emphasising that it is not averse to media enquiries on its finances, adding “That NNPC Ltd. does not owe the sum of $6.8bn to any international trader(s). In the oil trading business, transactions are carried out on credit, and so it is normal to owe at one point or the other. But NNPC Ltd., through its subsidiary, NNPC Trading, has many open trade credit lines from several traders. The company is paying its obligations of related invoices on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis.”
