Quick Takes

Conoil Results Excite Investors

Some shareholders of Conoil Plc have said the nine months financial performance released by the company last Friday has raised their hopes for higher returns at the end of the current financial year.

According to the results for the period ended September 30, 2018, Conoil recorded a turnover of N75.8 billion, up 8.0 per cent from N70.229 billion. Distribution expenses rose from N1.352 billion to N1.665 billion. However, administrative expenses declined from N5.488 billion to N5.219 billion, while cost of finance reduced from N1.884 billion to N1.483 billion in 2018. The company ended the nine months with profit before tax(PBT) of N2.268 billion, up from N2.027 billion in 2017, while profit after tax improved from N1.358 billion to N1.587 billion.Its earnings per share increased from 196 kobo to 229 kobo, further raising the capacity of the company to increase dividend payment by the end of the 2018 financial year.

Reacting to the results, Mr. Moses Igbrude of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN) said: “This is commendable considering the fact Conoil Plc has recorded increased bottom-line. And if this momentum is sustained in the last quarter, shareholders will smile home with higher dividend.” The Chairman of Conoil Plc, Mike Adebuga(Jr) promised shareholders at its last annual general meeting, that conscious efforts would be directed at achieving better execution of value-added products and services to grow its business, while also assuring them that the company’s long-term future was guaranteed.