Seplat’s H1 profit rises by 15% as revenue hits $355m
Lagos -- Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc has recorded a rise of 15 per cent in its half-year profit before deferred tax.
In its unaudited consolidated half-yearly financial results for the period ended 30 June 2019 made available to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, and the London Stock Exchange, LSE, Seplat reported a profit before deferred tax of $121 million (N37 billion) from $105 million (N32 billion) in the first half of 2018.
The company’s revenue for the period under review also appreciated by four per cent to $355 million (N109 billion) which is higher than the 2018 half-year figure of $343 million (N105 billion).
On a similar note, the oil firm’s gross profit rose by 19 percent to $207 million (N64 billion) from $174 million (N53 billion) reported in the 2018 half-year.
Operating cash flow hit $255 million from $245 million, indicating a four per cent appreciation year-on-year. Commenting on the company’s financial performance for the period, the Chief Executive Officer, Seplat Petroleum Development Company, Mr. Austin Avuru, said: "Today's results further emphasise the strong cash generation potential of our lowcost production base and the good progress we are making at the large scale Assa North/Ohaji South (ANOH) gas and condensate development project.
“Our H1 work programme has been impacted owing to unforeseen delays from rig contractors as well as the need to undertake higher levels of maintenance and asset integrity work for longer-term benefit of the assets.
"Both have affected production
during the H1 but we have now secured the necessary rig capacity for the second half to implement the revised work programme which will drive us towards an 2019 exit working interest production rate of 62,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) and bring annualised production within the unchanged guidance range of 49,000 to 55,000 boepd".
He further stated: “We remain on an extremely solid financial footing and concentrated on furthering our growth strategy as we target both organic and inorganic opportunities to grow shareholder returns."
The revenue of $355 million (up by four percent year-on-year) was with gas tolling revenue of $67 million recognised for the first time in relation to the processing of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company’s, NPDC, gas through the Seplat sole risk-funded Oben Gas Plant 375 million standard cubic feet per day, MMscfd, expansion between June 2015 and 2018 end.