By Ngozi Onyeakusi ….

 

 

In spite all odds, Oando Plc. has made a nice outing for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, as its profit after tax increased to N7.1 billion compared with a loss of N35.886 billion in the corresponding period of 2016.

According to the firm’s filing with the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) turnover increased by 16 to N383.5 billion from N329.9 billion in comparative period of 2016, gross profit increased by 148 per cent to N71.2 billion from N28.6 billion while profit-after-tax increased by 120% to N7.1 billion from a loss of (N35.8 billion) in Q3 2016.

Commenting on the performance, the Group Chief Executive, Oando Plc, Wale Tinubu said: “After five consecutive quarters of contraction, Nigeria’s official exit from the recession buoyed by improved performance in the oil, agriculture, manufacturing and trade sectors of the economy is laudable news. The continued increase in oil prices to a 2017 high of $58 in September, coupled with ongoing peace efforts in the Niger Delta have significantly impacted our 4th successive profit declaration.”

He said Oando continues to keep to the promise it made to shareholders during its 39th annual general meeting in 2016with the declaration of its fourth consecutive profit. The company was proactive in its approach to cushion the effect of the oil downturn by immediately implementing its strategic growth initiatives.

“Our third quarter financials are reflective of the continued implementation of our strategic initiatives of growth through our dollar earning upstream portfolio. Deleverage through recapitalisation and asset divestments and the expansion of our oil export trading business. The proceeds from our business restructuring and asset sales have been successfully used to improve our balance sheet with a reduction of N18 billion in our debt position from N247 billion as at December 2016 to N229 billion today,” he added.

On the future of the company, Tinubu said the company’s tenacity to continuously create value despite prevailing headwinds is evident in the improved performance four quarters in a row.

“We remain optimistic about our future performance and focused on delivering robust returns to shareholders,’’ he stated.