Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc has reported a decline of 134.22 per cent in profit before tax for the three months ended March 31, 2021.
According to the company’s unaudited financial statement for the first quarter of 2021 released on Thursday, it showed that its PBT dropped to N10.65bn in Q1 2021 from N31.11bn recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2021.
The company’s profit after tax also slid N9.45bn in the reviewed quarter from N34.63bn reported in Q1 2020, which represented a decline of 127.29 per cent in PAT.
Profit from operating activities was down by 167.40 per cent in Q1 2021 to N16.88bn relative to N25.04bn the company posted in Q1 2020.
Further highlights on the company’s unaudited financial report for Q1 2021 showed that basic earnings per share (in Kobo) was also down by 138.69 per cent to N23.29k from N60.19k in Q1 2020.
Seplat, however, posted a 86.47 per cent increase in its gross profit to N20.06bn against N10.76bn reported in the corresponding quarter of 2020.
In a change to the company’s previous policy of declaring dividends twice a year, in its Q3 results and the full-year results, Seplat announced an interim dividend of $2.5 cents, in the quarter under review.
Seplat is currently seeking shareholder approval at its forthcoming Annual General Meeting billed for May 20, to change name to Seplat Energy Plc, as part of a move to reflect evolving strategy.
The Chief Executive Officer, Roger Brown, while commenting on the Q1 2021 results, said the company was delivering oil and gas production volumes of 48,239 barrels of oil equivalent per day, within its 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.”
He added, “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 May 20, 2021.”
