Conoil Plc, one of Nigeria’s petroleum marketing companies, recorded a sharp 89 per cent year-on-year decline in its profit after tax to N900.4m for the half-year ended June 30, 2025, down from N8.02bn in the same period of 2024.

The company’s unaudited financial statement filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited showed that the significant fall in profit was largely driven by a combination of declining revenue and rising distribution and finance costs.

Revenue for the six-month period stood at N143.65bn, representing a 20.4 per cent decrease compared to the N180.57bn posted in the corresponding period of 2024.

The company’s cost of sales also fell by 18.9 per cent to N132.28bn from N163.05bn, resulting in a gross profit of N11.36bn, down 35.2 per cent from N17.53bn in H1 2024.

Operating expenses continued to weigh on the bottom line, with distribution expenses rising to N2.24bn from N1.88bn and administrative expenses marginally increasing to N3.21bn from N3.20bn.

Most notably, finance costs more than doubled to N4.76bn from N2.22bn, reflecting higher borrowing costs or increased debt obligations.

Consequently, profit before tax dropped significantly by 88.8 per cent to N1.15bn from N10.22bn recorded in the same period of 2024. Tax expenses declined proportionately to N246.6m, compared to N2.20bn in the previous year, bringing the net profit to N900.4m.

Earnings per share fell steeply to 130 kobo from 1,156 kobo, reflecting the impact of the earnings contraction on shareholder returns. No dividend was declared for the period.

Despite the earnings pressure, Conoil’s balance sheet remained relatively stable. Total assets rose slightly to N117.56bn from N114.95bn as of December 2024. The company’s current assets stood at N111.7bn, supported by trade and other receivables of N89bn and cash and bank balances of N7.85bn.

On the equity side, shareholders’ funds declined marginally by 1.9 per cent to N40.39bn from N41.17bn in the comparable period of 2024. Retained earnings also fell by 2.1 per cent to N36.2bn, mirroring the reduced profitability.