Forte Oil profits up by 23 percent

31 Jan 2016
Chibuike Oguh

Summary

Forte Oil said its cost of sales declined by 30 percent year-on-year in 2015.


Forte Oil Plc, a leading Nigerian petroleum marketing company, has reported that its after-tax profits rose by 23 percent year-on-year in the 2015 full year ending on December 31st.

The company said it earned N5.79 billion as full year profits in 2015, compared with N4.46 billion reported in 2014, according to a financial statement released on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Friday.

Just like other petroleum marketing companies, Forte Oil was impacted by low oil prices, which have fallen by over 70 percent in the past 19 months. In 2015, the company said revenues fell 27 percent year-on-year to N124.62 billion, compared with N170.13 billion reported in 2014.

Forte Oil’s higher profits in 2015 was due to the cost-savings achieved by procuring cheaper petroleum products during a period of depressed oil prices. The company said its cost of sales declined by 30 percent year-on-year in 2015 to N106.26 billion, compared with N151.66 billion reported in 2014.

Forte Oil, formerly African Petroleum (AP), operates over 500 fuel service stations across Nigeria. The company also controls Amperion Power Distribution Company Limited, the owner of the 414MW Geregu Power Plant located in Kogi State. In September 2015, Mercuria Energy Group, a Swiss oil and gas commodity-trading giant, acquired 17 percent equity in Forte Oil for $200 million. Nigerian billionaire, Femi Otedola, owns majority shareholding in Forte Oil.
 
Chibuike Oguh is Financial Nigeria's Frontier Markets Analyst


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