Oando Plc has recorded a profit after tax of ₦113.06 billion in the first quarter of 2025, showing a strong 90.5 percent rise compared to the ₦59.35 billion it posted during the same period in 2024. The oil and gas firm was able to bounce back largely due to a tax credit of ₦165.62 billion and a reversal of impairment losses worth ₦182.29 billion. These exceptional items helped the company offset operating and financial challenges it faced during the three-month period ended March 31, 2025.
According to its unaudited financial report submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the company recorded a slight revenue growth of 1.88 percent. Revenue went up from ₦915.42 billion in Q1 2024 to ₦932.57 billion in Q1 2025. At the same time, cost of sales dropped by 4.17 percent, falling from ₦884.01 billion to ₦847.15 billion. This reduction helped push gross profit to ₦85.43 billion, more than doubling the ₦31.41 billion gross profit posted in the same period last year.
Despite the growth in revenue and gross profit, Oando reported an operating loss of ₦120.34 billion in Q1 2025. This was in sharp contrast to the operating profit of ₦117.20 billion reported in Q1 2024. The major reason for the swing was a sharp drop in other operating income, which fell from a gain of ₦248.06 billion in 2024 to a loss of ₦301.90 billion in 2025 — a swing of more than ₦550 billion.
On a positive note, the company’s administrative expenses reduced sharply. It recorded ₦86.15 billion in administrative costs, down from ₦158.90 billion in Q1 2024, reflecting its efforts to cut internal costs.
On the finance side, Oando recorded a significant boost in finance income. It grew to ₦149.60 billion in Q1 2025, compared to just ₦8.22 billion in the same period last year. Although finance costs rose to ₦81.82 billion from ₦55.08 billion, the company still ended with a net finance income of ₦67.78 billion, reversing the net finance cost of ₦46.86 billion recorded in Q1 2024.
While the group recorded a loss before tax of ₦52.56 billion, the large tax credit helped push the company back into profitability. The final net profit stood at ₦113.06 billion. Of this amount, ₦111.29 billion was attributed to shareholders of the parent company, while ₦1.77 billion went to non-controlling interests.
Earnings per share also improved from ₦5 in Q1 2024 to ₦9 in Q1 2025.
In its statement of comprehensive income, Oando recorded foreign exchange gains of ₦7.80 billion, compared to a loss of ₦44.40 billion last year. As a result, the total group comprehensive income rose to ₦120.86 billion in Q1 2025 from ₦14.95 billion in Q1 2024, while the portion attributable to equity holders jumped to ₦119.07 billion.
At the company level, however, Oando Plc reported a loss of ₦28.94 billion in Q1 2025, which was still an improvement compared to the ₦210.94 billion loss recorded in the same period in 2024. Unlike last year when it posted ₦343.86 billion in revenue, the company did not report any revenue in Q1 2025. Despite other operating income of ₦421.98 billion, this was outweighed by impairment charges of ₦432.77 billion and administrative expenses of ₦4.76 billion, leading to an operating loss of ₦15.55 billion.
Total assets at the group level stood at ₦6.83 trillion as of March 31, 2025, up from ₦6.43 trillion in December 2024. Despite the positive performance, the company still has a negative equity position of ₦240.12 billion, although this improved from the ₦360.98 billion deficit at the end of last year. The company also maintained a negative equity of ₦377.21 billion, wider than the ₦348.27 billion reported in December 2024.
On the liabilities side, Oando’s borrowings stood at ₦3.04 trillion, with ₦1.69 trillion classified as non-current and ₦1.35 trillion as current. Its trade and other payables rose to ₦2.64 trillion from ₦2.55 trillion in December 2024.
The group’s retained losses were reduced from ₦292.50 billion in December 2024 to ₦181.21 billion in Q1 2025. At the company level, however, retained losses widened slightly from ₦531.07 billion to ₦560.01 billion.
Oando’s performance in Q1 2025 shows that while the company still faces financial challenges, strategic reversals of past impairments and tax credits have helped it post a strong profit in a tough business environment.
