Seplat Energy Plc has reported a post-tax profit of N52.5 billion for the first quarter of 2026, up from N35.3 billion recorded in the same period in 2025, according to its latest filing on the Nigerian Exchange.
The improvement in bottom-line performance came despite a 5.22 per cent decline in revenue to N1.16 trillion, as lower income tax charges helped offset weaker topline results. Pretax profit stood at N229.1 billion, compared to N314.6 billion in the prior year.
Crude oil remained the dominant revenue driver, contributing 88.70 per cent or N1.03 trillion. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) and gas sales added N70.3 billion and N61.1 billion respectively.
Retained earnings rose to N389.1 billion from N342.4 billion, reflecting steady accumulation despite earnings pressure during the period.
The company declared an interim dividend of 5 US cents and a special dividend of 4 US cents per share, totalling 9 US cents. The naira equivalent will be determined using the exchange rate on June 4, 2026, ahead of a June 19, 2026 payment date.
Based on an assumed exchange rate of N1,375.13, the total dividend translates to about N124 per share, amounting to over N74 billion across 599,944,561 outstanding shares.
Revenue for the period stood at N1.16 trillion, down from N1.22 trillion previously. After cost of sales of N650.7 billion, gross profit came in at N512.6 billion.
However, operating performance was weighed down by a net other loss of N126.4 billion from overlifts, reducing operating profit to N295.4 billion from N361.2 billion.
After net finance costs of N60.4 billion and joint venture losses of N5.8 billion, pretax profit moderated to N229.1 billion.
A significantly lower tax charge of N176.5 billion supported an increase in post-tax profit to N52.5 billion, improving earnings per share to N77.95 from N52.14.
On the balance sheet, total assets declined slightly to N8.5 trillion from N8.7 trillion, with oil and gas properties valued at N4.2 trillion as the largest asset class.
Shareholder equity stood at N2.5 trillion, down from N2.6 trillion, with a foreign currency translation reserve of N2.1 trillion and retained earnings of N389.1 billion.
Total liabilities also narrowed to N5.9 trillion from N6.08 trillion, driven mainly by trade payables of N1.3 trillion and long-term borrowings of N1.2 trillion.
Following the results, shares of Seplat Energy Plc hit the maximum daily gain of 10 per cent on the Nigerian Exchange during intraday trading on April 30, 2026. The stock has returned over 97 per cent year-to-date, with more than 11 million units traded and a current price of N11,495.
