11PLC shareholders and investors say the company is the most successful company in the downstream sector of the country’s petroleum industry.
The shareholders said during the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) last Wednesday in Abuja that despite the harsh operational environment in 2023 the company emerged as the most profitable and successful company in the petroleum industry.
Most shareholders who spoke on the performance of the company said the Annual Report and Account for 2023 said the results were not only fantastic, but consistent enough to give investors hope for a bright future.
The shareholders called for a standing ovation to the management of the company and kudos for a job well done.
For Alhaja Adeshina Rasheedat Oluwatoyin, despite the harsh economic headwinds in 2023, the company managed to increase the dividends paid to investors from 850 kobo per share to 900 kobo.
Oluwatoyin who observed that the dividend payout was the highest among the company’s competition, thanked the management of the company for an exceptional performance, adding that such a good result was attractive to the investors, most of whom are pensioners, particularly during these difficult times.
“With such high performance, we are looking forward to better performance in 2024 financial year,” she said.
Alhaji Sani Yau, in his speech said the performance of the company during the year was simply fantastic and heart-warming, adding that as far as the downstream sector of the country’s petroleum industry was concerned, 11PLC has no rival.
“What else can I say? Look at the profit after tax of over N25 bn, it more than doubled the N12.1bn profit realized during the same year by its closest competition, Total. One cannot mention other smaller companies like MRS, and Conoil PLC.
“There is doubt that 11PLC is the most profitable oil company in Nigeria, as far as the downstream petroleum sector is concerned. That is why the shareholders, during the AGM, gave the management a standing ovation for a wonderful performance.
“We are confident that the future for the company is bright, judging by the fact that there were other companies that recorded losses of over N9bn during the same period. Same as other companies in other sectors, like Nestle, Lever Brothers which all recorded huge losses during the same period. So, it is an achievement we all have to be proud of.”
In his speech, another shareholder, Esan Williams, said the unique thing about the performance of 11PLC is that the company has been very consistent as it maintained an upward trend in its track record from the last few years.
Although he described 2023 as particularly eventful and challenging, he said the overall turnover showed shrewd management of the company’s expenses, the result of which was the stability the investors enjoyed.
“This is an indication that the future is very bright for the company. The only challenge is sustainability of the current level of profitability. But we are confident that the company has a strong management with the capacity to come up with new ideas to sustain the profits. We have no doubt that the performance of the company will continue on a positive trend,” he said.
In the Accounts presented during the meeting by Alhaji Abdulkadiir Mamman, a Non-Executive Director of the company, on behalf of the Chairman, Ramesh Kansagra, the company recorded N26.56 bn as profit for the year, about 45 percent higher than N18.26 bn realized in the previous year,
Also, the company’s total revenue grew by 42 percent from N371.89 bn to N526.53 bn, with profit before tax rising by 36 percent from N22.699bn to N30.79bn, and total assets rising by 55 percent, from N141.81bn to N220.12bn.
In the Chairman’s Statement read on his behalf, Kansaggra said in 2023 the world economy experienced slower growth, high inflation and geopolitical tension, which operations of the industry impacted negatively by two key policy changes by the government, namely removal of subsides on petrol and floating of the Naira.
“These changes significantly affected the petroleum industry, leading to changes in operating costs and overall consumption of petroleum products.” he said.
Despite the challenges posed by the deregulation policy in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, exchange rate fluctuations and changes in regulations and policies, the Chairman said the company still managed to record impressive results as contained in the report.
With such performance, he said the Board of Directors recommended a dividend payout of N3.24 bn, which translated to 900 kobo per ordinary share of 50 kobo held by the shareholders.
He expressed optimism that 2024 holds mixed indication of recovery and potential slowdown, adding that with Port Harcourt Refinery and Dangote expected to start operations during the year, there was hope that the market for petroleum products, including availability of products and pricing as well as storage facilities would be enhanced.
