Eternal Oil and Gas plc has announced a profit after tax of N723 million for the financial year ended December 2010, based on figures submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) over the weekend. The profit is a 148 percent improvement on a loss after tax of N1.5 billion recorded by the company in December 2009.
The company’s audited 2010 result also shows that it recorded a significant 53 percent increase in sales to N14 billion from an average sale of N9.2 billion in December 2009, with cost of sales slightly falling behind with a slower growth of 52 percent.
The abridged full year results also show that improved liquidity position for the oil and gas firm. The company’s working capital position shows that its available cash and liquid assets can meet its short-term obligations, dropping from a shortfall of N2.09 billion in 2009 to more improved shortfall of N465 million.
The company’s trade debtors, customers buying goods without paying cash immediately short up 41 percent to N1.45 billion from N1.02 billion, which may have been partly responsible for a 75 percent drop in its cash and bank balances to N262 million from about N1.03 billion in 2009.
Eterna is into the manufacturing of a wide range of automotives and Industrial oils. The company in August 2010 announced that it had won a N2.2 billion contract for the supply of fuel oil to Egbin Thermal Station belonging to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) as part of the efforts of the government to find viable alternatives to supplement gas supply to the plant for electricity generation.
This was executed in 90 days and may have contributed in boosting sales of Eterna in 2010. Other initiatives taken to boost sales in 2010 included the repackaging of all its brands. Information obtained from the company’s website shows the various initiatives management took in the last few years to reposition the company.
The initiatives include strategic investments in products infrastructure to guarantee supply that include the acquisition of a 30-million liter petroleum products storage depot at Ibafon, Lagos, for storage and dispensing of petroleum products.
According to its management, “this facility is a key revenue earner aimed at unlocking Eterna’s potential in the downstream segment of the petroleum industry.”
Other initiatives include a 2.5 million liter aviation tank farm in Abuja for the warehousing, storage and dispensing of aviation fuel in order to diversify the business undertaking of the company, and the formation of alliances to develop the trading arm of the company and become a recognisable player in products supply in Nigeria.
Eterna also claims to have made significant growth in the network and development of the company’s retail business with the acquisition and building and commissioning of 12 new service stations and retail outlets across the country.
It also claims to have moved plant production capacity from 30,000lts per month in 2004 to 300,000lts monthly in 2009, while it gained entry into the lucrative upstream sector by the expansion of its Castrol franchise from Subsea Control Fluids into Surface Production and Drilling lubes.
