Ardova Posts N1.54bn Profit

Ardova Plc (Ardova) today announced the release of its 2021 Audited Financial Statements and Q1 2022 Unaudited Financial Results.

Integrated energy company, Ardova Plc (AP), on Thursday posted a profit after tax of N1.54 billion for the financial year ended December 31, 2021.

Trading of the company’s securities on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) was recently suspended over the late filing of its 2021 Audited Financial Statements.

However, the company filed both the 2021 audited financial statements and first quarter (Q1) 2022 unaudited financial results on the NGX.

The 2021 statement indicated that despite the N1.54bn, the group net loss was N3.8bn due to losses from subsidiaries Axles and Cartage, and newly acquired Enyo Retail and Supply Ltd

It said in Q1 2022, AP’s performance showed significant improvements as yields from investments made in 2021 contributed to growth in revenue, sales volume, and profits.

Ardova’s Chief Executive Officer, Olumide Adeosun, said 2021 proved to be an eventful year for the company as it marked the completion of its stabilization strategy, with the consequent strengthened balance sheet providing the leverage for the inorganic expansion required to evolve Ardova into an integrated energy company.

Highlighting parts of the expansion phase that became material in 2021, Mr. Adeosun stated that, “In the course of the year, we concluded a landmark capital raise of N25.3 billion in an oversubscribed bond that was the largest by any downstream company in Nigeria, and an indication of investor confidence in Ardova’s future. We also concluded the acquisition of Enyo Retail and Supply Limited (ERSL) in a deal that makes our retail network the largest in Nigeria”.

He also noted that the company made further investments in cleaner energy infrastructure, as it commenced onsite work on its 20,000 metric tonne Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage facility in Ijora, stressing that Ardova won a license to operate an Oil Marginal Field following a successful bid in the 2020 round, thereby increasing the company’s potential for foreign currency revenue generation.

Ardova’s Chief Financial Officer, Moshood Olajide, noted that “the company continued to deliver on profits, as we ended Q1 with a profit-after-tax position of N1.6bn, which is a growth of 37% compared to the same period in 2021. We also continued to increase our capital expenditure, principally in investments that facilitate our strategic expansion, and we expect to see returns within a three-year window.”

Mr. Olajide further noted that Ardova’s Q1 2022 results showcased resilience as “We sustained competitive growth by increasing revenue by 21% YoY (Group: 50% YoY), with the resulting profit of N1.6Bn putting us in a 37% growth YoY position.

“As a group, we were negatively impacted by our subsidiaries, Axles & Cartage Limited, which faced operational environment issues and the newly acquired Enyo, which is presently undergoing a transformation process to drive operational efficiency and profitability. When subsidiaries are taken into consideration the group loss amounts to N3.8bn”.

He stated that the losses experienced in 2021 are an expected reflection of the strategic inorganic growth programme of the company, and do not affect the viability of the company, especially as some of the immediate benefits of the programme were illustrated by the better year on year performance recorded in our Q1 2022 results.

He stressed that once fully integrated, the acquisitions alongside the AP Renewables subsidiary will provide and safeguard Ardova’s capacity to thrive as global energy consumption tilts to cleaner sources.

July 08, 2022