NNPC posts N3.3tn profit, declares N2.1tn dividend

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has released its 2023 Audited Financial Statement, declaring a net profit of N3.297tn at the close of the financial year which ended in December 2023, an increase of over N700bn (28 per cent) when compared to the 2022 profit of N2.548tn.

It disclosed this in a press statement issued after a press conference held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja on Monday, where the Chief Financial Officer of the company, Mr Umar Ajiya, said the release of the AFS was a testament to the company’s commitment to transparency and accountability.

“Our fiscal performance reflects both strategic foresight and operational resilience. Despite inherent challenges of our operational and economic environment, we have improved the productivity and the financial performance of this great company,” Ajiya stated.

Ajiya added that posting such impressive returns demonstrates NNPC Ltd’s commitment to sustaining profitability and supporting the attainment of national energy security as stipulated by the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, and by extension, as expected by the company’s shareholders.

Explaining that NNPC will announce an Initial Public offer once the shareholders and board make a decision, Ajiya debunked claims on subsidy payment, saying the company was only taking care of the petrol importation shortfall between it and the federation.

Speaking earlier at the press conference, the Chairman of NNPC Ltd Board, Chief Pius Akinyelure, said that the excellent performance came as the fruit of the PIA 2021, the commitment of the board, management, and staff of the company.

Akinyelure added that the shareholders of the company had since approved a final dividend of N2.1tn in line with PIA 2021 provisions.

In her remarks at the briefing, the Executive Vice President of Upstream, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said with improvements witnessed as a result of the renewed vigour in the war against crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, NNPC Ltd is targeting two million barrels per day crude oil production by the end of the year.

On the current fuel queues in parts of Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory, the Executive Vice President of Downstream, Mr Dapo Segun, appealed for understanding from Nigerians, saying that the company is working with relevant stakeholders to address the distribution, evacuation, and logistics challenges.

Recall that in 2021, NNPC declared profit in its operations for the first time.  From a loss position of N803bn in 2018, it reduced the loss to N1.7bn in 2019.

However, in 2020, it posted its first-ever profit of N287bn, then in 2021, it recorded N674.1bn profit and in 2022, the profit grew to N2.548tn, an unprecedented achievement in its financial performance. The N3.297tn profit declared for 2023 is the highest since the company’s inception, 46 years ago.