Conoil Plc’s H1 2025 Pre-Tax Profit Plunges 89% to ₦1.147 billion

Conoil Plc has reported a 89% year-on-year (YoY) drop in pre-tax profit to ₦1.147 billion for the first half (H1) of 2025, sharply down from ₦10.22 billion in the same period of 2024.

The unaudited Q2 2025 results reveal an 83% YoY decline in quarterly pre-tax profit to ₦775 million, underlining ongoing operational strain.

At the heart of this downturn is a significant fall in revenue from its core white products segment, comprising PMS, AGO, and other refined fuels. Q2 2025 revenue dropped 28% YoY to ₦64.39 billion and fell 19% from Q1 2025. Overall, H1 2025 revenue declined 20% YoY to ₦143.65 billion, down from ₦180.57 billion in H1 2024.

Gross profit fell 27% YoY to ₦6.05 billion in Q2, even as cost of sales declined by a similar margin (₦58.34 billion vs. ₦81.39 billion in Q2 2024). Operating expenses rose 22% YoY to ₦2.80 billion, further eroding margins. Consequently, operating profit shrank to ₦3.25 billion in Q2, down from ₦5.90 billion a year earlier.

Finance costs nearly doubled to ₦2.47 billion in Q2, driven by interest on bank overdrafts. For H1, finance expenses totaled ₦4.76 billion. This significantly undermined earnings, even as Conoil reduced its total debt to ₦21.5 billion from ₦28.7 billion in December 2024.

Despite profitability pressures, total assets rose slightly to ₦117.56 billion, while retained earnings edged up to ₦36.22 billion. However, earnings per share tumbled 75% YoY to ₦1.30.

Conoil’s stock price reflected investor concerns, falling 39.4% year-to-date to ₦234.50 as of August 1, 2025, from ₦387.20 at the year’s start.