By Ngozi Onyeakusi— Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc., leading Nigerian independent energy company listed on both the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), has announced its announces its unaudited results for the three months ended 31 March 2021, recording a rise in revenue by 16.8 per cent to $152.4 million with increased operational efficiencies and further reduction in costs.

The Company reported a profit before tax (PBT) of $28 million whilst adopting a quarterly dividend policy of US2.5 cents per share in Q1 starting immediately.

A profit before tax (PBT) of $28 million was recorded for the period, up from a loss position of $95.7 million in the same period of 2020 (3M 2020).

SEPLAT maintained a strong cash position of $236.3 million in Q1 2021, with an EBITDA position of $77.8 million.

Commenting on the results, which were released to the NSE and LSE on Thursday, Mr. Roger Brown, the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, said: “We have made a progressive start to the year, delivering oil and gas production volumes of 48,239 boepd, within our guidance range. With the Gbetiokun field at OML40 now back in production, we are currently achieving average daily volumes of nearly 54 kboepd so far in April and we will build on this as we add additional oil and gas wells this year.

“Our flagship ANOH gas project is proceeding as planned and was fully funded in February when our joint venture company, AGPC successfully raised $260 million of debt financing. In addition, the success of our $650 million Eurobond issuance in March demonstrates investor confidence in our prudent financial management and the exciting future ahead for the Company and its stakeholders.”

Th SEPLAT CEO further explained: “As we drive forward our strategy of being a low-cost energy provider delivering reliable, affordable and sustainable energy to the young, fast-growing population of Nigeria, energy transition – which delivers on Nigeria’s social development goals in tandem with the climate agenda – is essential.”

According to him: “This is the backbone of Seplat’s strategy and we will be communicating how we plan to achieve this over the coming months. To that end, the Board took the decision to change our name to Seplat Energy PLC, which more adequately reflects our ambitions of providing a broader energy mix. We will present the name change to our shareholders for approval at the AGM on 20 May 2021.”