Seplat Petroleum Plc has posted a Profit before deferred tax of $270.3 million in its 2019 financial year-end, up by 13.4% from $238 million recorded in 2018.
While Seplat Petroleum’s cash at bank stood at $333 million against $585 million in 2018, its operating cash flow was $338 million.
Seplat Petroleum continued to emphasize that its gas diversification, which has been about 30% of its group revenue, came from gas, this time $203 million.
The company’s gross debt stood at $789 million against $446 million (2018) after completion of Eland acquisition.
Its full production capability is now between 47,000 and 57,000 based on estimate per day. Seplat Petroleum’s operating costs per basis of estimate closed at $6.20, slightly down compared to what was recorded in 2018.
While the company’s earnings per share stood at 0.46, Price book ratio 0.4503 (showing the company is highly undervalued) and dividend yield of about 7.57% with a market capitalization of $843 million as at 25th March 2020.
A final dividend of $0.05 for the full year 2019, bringing the total dividend for 2019 to $0.10.
Chief Executive Officer, Seplat Plc, Austin Avuru, said, “As we enter a challenging phase for the global economy, Seplat will benefit from being a resilient company built on the solid foundations of prudent financial management and the careful mitigation of risk.
“We have previously been tested by crisis. We successfully navigated the twin challenges of the 2014/2015 oil price shock, which was immediately followed by the 16-month Trans Forcados shut-in, which drastically reduced our liquids production. Thanks to our flexibility in managing cash flows we emerged a stronger and better-funded company, ready to take advantage of new opportunities.”
Compared to those difficult periods, the Seplat boss assured investors and stakeholders that today’s Seplat has more cash on its balance sheet and is even more robust and diversified thanks to its continuing investments in gas, with its long-term contracts and independence from oil price volatility.
About SEPLAT: Seplat Petroleum Development Company (SEPLAT) is a Nigerian independent oil and gas company listed on both the London and Nigerian stock exchanges with a strategic focus in the Niger Delta of Nigeria.
The company was formed in June 2009 through the partnership of Shebah Petroleum Development Company Limited and Platform Petroleum Joint Ventures Limited to specifically pursue upstream oil and gas opportunities in Nigeria.
