Indigenous oil marketing company, MRS Oil Nigeria Plc incurred N730 million losses in the first three months of 2019 as huge decline in receipts from Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol), a core product, substantially weighed down on bottom-line.
Proceeds from petroleum products, which accounted for about 74 percent of the oil firm’s total top-line, plummeted 58 percent to N9.9 billion, from N23.5 billion recorded a year before, pushing turnover to dip 60 percent from N33.5 billion in the previous comparable period to N13.5 billion in the quarter review.
Meanwhile, the Board of Directors have approved the resignation of Paul Bissohong as Director of the company effective, Tuesday, April 30.
Bissohong was appointed Managing Director of MRS Oil Nigeria Plc in 2012, and four years later, he was re-deployed to MRS Holdings Limited to oversee strategic aspects of the company.
The significant dip in earnings from PMS weighed down on gross profit as it shed in double-digits at 64 percent to N687.7 million, despite production cost slashed 59 percent from N31.6 billion to N12.8 billion.
Gross margin was not spared from the beating as it shed a whopping 35 percent points to 5 percent in the quarter review, a deteoriation from 40 percent in the previous corresponding quarter.
This then means that the oil firm was able to retain just N50 from every thousand naira earned in revenue, compared with N400 a year ago, before settling indirect expenses, tax and interests.
The firm incurred N625 million operating loss compared with an operating profit of N658 million realized a year earlier, basically because of the tangible decline in reversal on financial assets which shed N144.1 million.
All these brought about weakened profitability as after-tax loss nosedived to N730.6 million compared with N374.6 million profit made twelve months ago. And as a result loss per share accumulated to N2.40 from a profit per share of N1.47 a year earlier.
The firm performed fairly well in terms of cost-efficiency. Selling & distribution expenses jumped marginally by 5 percent to N260.1 million, compared with N243.6 million in quarter one of 2018, while administrative expenses dip 4.9 percent to N1.13 billion.
Total assets of MRS Oil Nigeria depreciated by N1.8 million quarter-on-quarter to N52.4 billion, triggered by declines in inventories, cash & cash equivalents, prepayments and property, plants & equipment.
MRS Oil Nigeria Plc distributes and markets refined petroleum products and fuels, and also blend lubricants and manufactures greases.
Israel Odubola
