Shareholders at Ardova AGM cheer N3.8bn loss

Ardova Plc on Tuesday held its 43rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos where its shareholders accepted amongst others the Audited Financial Statements with the Statement of Profit or Loss and other Comprehensive Income for the year ended December 31, 2021. Though the AGM was held by proxies that could exercise shareholder voting rights.

Losses from subsidiaries Axles and Cartage, and newly acquired Enyo Retail and Supply Limited created a group net loss position of N3.8billion. Ardova had after regulatory penalty for default filing released its 2021 Audited Financial Statements and first quarter (Q1) 2022 Unaudited Financial Results.

The company’s share price at N12.80 on Monday September 26 show it has decreased by 1.5percent year-to-date (YtD).

At the AGM, the company disclosed a gross revenue of N192.47 billion in the 2021 financial year, representing a 5.95percent increase from the 2020 revenue of N181.66 billion, whilst the group revenue closed at N201.44 billion which is a 10.71percent increase from 2020.

The company also grew shareholders’ funds by 6.58percent y-o-y, to N20.91 billion in FY 2021 (FY2020: 19.62 billion) as a result of an 11.85percent growth in retained earnings. The group also expanded its total asset base by 95.7percent y-o-y to N126.80 billion.

Commenting on the 2021 performance and AP’s strategy going forward, Chief Executive Officer, Ardova Plc, Olumide Adeosun said: “Ardova continues a journey of growth and economic impact. Our shareholders are a major part of our vision to drive business expansion and transformation. We have ventured into partnerships in areas of our diversified investments resulting in capital projects that will deliver efficiency for the group. Our revenue growth is an attestation to the efforts and positive decisions made despite bearing economic challenges and we hope to continue to outperform market expectations with solid profit margins”.

Adeosun also added that “Ardova remains focused on a future beyond traditional fuels and taking necessary bold initiatives. By expanding our footprint across the nation through the acquisition of Enyo, we have widened the network of AP’s retail station outlets and shortened our proximity to the end customer, making it easier to deliver at widescale retail the cleaner energy products that will materialise from our present capital investments.”

Moshood Olajide, Chief Financial Officer/Executive Director, Finance & Business Support, Ardova Plc, noted, that the increase in the group’s revenue was primarily driven by growth in the fuels business which constituted 86.7percent. Lube sales recorded 52percent growth resulting in 12.8percent of revenue, the transport and logistics business constituting 0.3percent, and LPG & Cylinder sales with 0.2percent of the group revenue.

Adeosun stated that Ardova remains committed to delivering shareholder value saying “The capital investments we have carried out in 2021 are primed to make us a fully transformed integrated energy company, where the value we create for customers by being increasingly integrated into their lives, sustainably impacts our balance sheet”.