After a turbulent 2020 that unprecedented disrupted the oil & gas industry owing to the COVID-19 pandemic which led to a record drop in crude price, Total Nigeria Plc said it sees light at the end of the tunnel and is optimistic for a better year.
The downstream oil & gas player said it is well-positioned to report better performance than it did in 2020.
The company reported a revenue decline in 2020, proof of the impact of the pandemic which resulted in low demand for petroleum products and others given the squeeze in economic activities and restricted movements across the country.
Stanislas Mittelman, the Chairman, Total Nigeria, described 2020 as an unprecedented year while addressing shareholders on Thursday at the 43rd annual general meeting held in Lagos and virtually, said the company’s turnover dropped from N292billion in 2019 to N205billion.
A breakdown of the revenue indicated that petroleum products and lubricants/others had a significant drop in revenue. Petroleum products’ revenue which constituted over 75percent of the total revenue fell by 34.83 percent from N241billion in 2019 to N157.05billion in 2020. Similarly, lubricants and others which constituted about 20 percent of the total revenue also fell by 6.85 percent from N51.18billion in 2019 to N47.67billion in 2020.
However, the company’s profit before tax rose by 5.74 percent to N2.91billion in 2020 from N2.75billion in 2019. The increase signalled an improved performance during a pandemic compared to the 77.27 percent decline in profit from N12.10billion in 2018 to N2.75billion in 2019.
The performance, according to Mittelman, was “due to the new and improved initiatives put in place by management.”
The company’s profit after tax, however, slipped by 9.46 percent to N2.06billion in 2020 from N2.28billion in 2019. Its income tax grew by 79.16 percent from N472.01million in 2019 to N845.65million in 2020.
Further breakdown of the company’s financial report for the year ended December 31 2020, revealed that the company’s liquidity ratio for review year stood at 22.38 percent, a significant increase from 6.38 percent recorded in 2019, the highest it has recorded in the last six years.
The increase was largely driven by an increase in cash and cash equivalent which grew significantly by 276.72 percent to N31.01billion in 2020 from N8.23billion in 2019. The company has included its funds’ balance with Total treasury as cash and cash equivalents since its withdrawal could be made instantaneously. This addition pushed up the liquidity position of the company significantly, away from the downward trend recorded in the previous year.
While acknowledging that 2021 commenced at a slow pace, Mittelman said “Total Nigeria is very well positioned” and is “on a sure footing to perform better than last year.”
Shareholders of Total Nigeria Plc approved the N2.06billion dividend proposed by the company’s board of directors for the 2020 financial year.
The N2.06billion represents N6.08 per share to be distributed as a final dividend subject to the deduction of appropriate withholding tax at the time of payment, according to the company.
The company plans to ride on its investment strategy to deliver a high return for investors. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it said it retained its investment plans.
“In addition to what we have in mind for gas and solar, it is part of our long term plan to keep growing our network of stations to between six to ten per year,” Mittelman said.
