The billions of naira Africa’s largest oil-producing country squanders due to the absence of full deregulation in Nigeria’s downstream sector is no longer news, but what is new is how firms braced the odds in 2021 to post significant upticks in both top-line and bottom-line figures.
Analysis by BusinessDay showed the financial performance of five major companies operating in the downstream sector namely Ardova, Conoil, Eterna, MRS, and TotalEnergies in full-year 2021.
The firms collectively grew 24 percent of their total assets to N411.38 billion in March 2022, from N330.73 billion in the comparable period of last year.
In March 2022, Total energies recorded the highest total asset of N271 billion, while Conoil, Eterna, and MRS recorded N55.30 billion, N49.11 billion, and N35.97 respectively.
Here is an analysis to show the performance of the downstream firms in the first quarter of 2022.
Total Energies
Total Energies logged an increase in profit to N4.36 billion in March 2022, 45 percent from N3 billion in March 2021.
The firm also recorded a revenue increase of 46 percent to N97.6 billion in the first three months of 2022 from N66.7 billion in the same period of 2021.
The oil company’s cost of sales jumped 50 percent to N83.1 billion in March 2022 from N55.20 billion in March 2021.
Total assets grew 30 percent to N271 billion as against N208.7 billion in the preceding year.
Selling & distribution costs surged to N1.161 billion, compared to N864.4 million in the period under review.
The firm’s administrative expenses saw a rise to N7.56 billion, coming from N7 billion in the preceding year.
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Conoil plc
Conoil Plc, a marketer of refined petroleum products in Nigeria, recorded a 31 percent increase in its profit after tax to N557.2 million in the first quarter of 2022 from N423.9 million in the same period of 2021.
However, the oil company’s revenue dropped 21 percent to N26.1 billion from N33 billion in the year under review, while the cost of sales decreased by 24 percent to N23.3 billion from N30.7 billion.
Total assets climbed 2 percent to N55.3 billion in the first quarter of 2022 from N54 billion the same period in the previous year.
Selling and distribution expenses rose to N519,498 million in March 2022 from N436,286 million in March 2021.
Administrative expenses grew to N1.31 billion against N1.29 billion in the comparable periods.
MRS
MRS recorded a loss of N41.45 million compared to an N4.8 million profit in the first quarter of the previous year.
Revenue grew by just 3 percent to N17.9 billion in Q1 2022 from N17.3 billion in the comparable periods.
Total Assets dropped 3 percent to N35.97 billion in March 2022 compared to N37.05 billion in the previous year.
The cost of sales jumped to N16.76 billion compared to N16.43 billion in the period under review. Selling and distribution expenses increased to N336 million from N329 million in the previous year.
Administrative expenses also increased to N980.8 million compared to N969.9 million in the period under review.
Eterna plc
Eterna recorded a profit of N877 million in the first quarter of 2022 as against N254 million in the first quarter of 2021. Revenue surged to N26.82 billion in March 2022 compared to N14.39 billion in March 2021.
Total assets rose by 58 percent to N49.11 billion as against N30.98 billion in the comparable period.
The cost of sales increased to N24.5 billion in Q1 2022 compared to N13 billion in Q1 in the previous year.
Selling and distribution expenses declined to N33 million compared to N37 million in the comparable periods. General and administrative expenses rose to N1.1 billion from N795 million in the previous year.
