Seplat Energy Plc has kicked off 2025 with an impressive performance, as its acquisition of Seplat Energy Production Newco Unlimited (SEPNU) continues to bear fruit.
In its first quarter results for the period ended March 31, 2025, the company reported impressive growth across key financial metrics, led by a more than threefold surge in pre-tax profit.
Profit before tax soared by 203.97% YoY to N314.646 billion ($207 million) driven by an impressive revenue growth.
Revenue rose sharply by 356.97% year-on-year to N1.228 trillion ($804 million), compared to N268.618 billion in Q1 2024.
Key Highlights (Q1 25 vs Q1 2024)
- Revenue: N1.228 trillion, +356.97% YoY: |$809 million + 350.04% YoY
- Cost of sales: N692.079 billion +237.92% YoY: |$456 million +232.79% YoY
- Gross profit: N535.433 billion + 739.07% YoY: |$353 million +726.39% YoY
- Operating profit: N361.262 billion + 195.20% YoY:| $238 million +190.74% YoY
- Profit before tax: N314.646 billion + 203.97%: |$207 million + 199.38%
- Profit after tax: N35.384 billion +1,331.18%
The big jump in Seplat’s performance came mainly from producing a lot more oil and gas and combining the full results of the new company it bought (SEPNU) into its own.
- Oil production (crude and condensates) more than tripled, rising by 224% to 9 million barrels, compared to just 2.8 million barrels this time last year.
- Gas production also grew strongly, going up 50% to 14.9 billion standard cubic feet, up from 10 billion last year.
- On top of that, they produced 304,000 barrels of natural gas liquids (NGLs) in the quarter.
When you add everything together oil, gas, and NGLs Seplat’s total production rose by 164% to 11.8 million barrels of oil equivalent, compared to 4.5 million a year earlier.
Seplat acknowledged that this strong production performance reflects the transformational impact of the SEPNU consolidation and improvements across its onshore assets.
Dividend increase
Reflecting its confidence in the sustainability of its earnings and cash flows, the Board has approved a quarterly dividend of US$ 4.6 cents per share for the first quarter 2025.
This is a 28% increase on Q4 2024 core dividend, and a 53% increase on the equivalent core dividend in Q1 2024.
The company clarified in the report that on the basis of maintaining this level through 2025 it will result in a total dividend of $18.4 cents per share, an 11% increase in the total dividend declared for 2024 ($16.5 cents per share).
Balance sheet analysis
Seplat Energy’s balance sheet remains in solid shape, underpinned by its oil and gas properties, which account for over half of the company’s total assets.
At the end of Q1 2025, the company reported gross debt of N1.662 trillion ($1.08 billion), down from N2.100 trillion ($1.38 billion) a year earlier. Cash at the bank stood at N514.1 billion ($334.6 million), helping to reduce net debt to N1.148 trillion ($747 million).
This represents a 17% reduction in net debt, achieved through a combination of debt repayments and strong free cash flow generation during the quarter, according to management.
Outlook
Seplat Energy reaffirmed its 2025 production, capital expenditure, and cost guidance following a strong first-quarter performance.
On production, it still maintained its full-year production target at 120,000–140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (kboepd):
- Onshore is forecast at 48,000–56,000 kboepd (7% YoY growth).
- SEPNU assets are projected at 72,000–84,000 kboepd (12% YoY growth).
On CAPEX, capital spending remains on track, with $260 million–$320 million earmarked for strategic drilling and reliability projects to sustain future production growth.
On OPEX, while operating costs are projected to rise modestly due to offshore restoration efforts, the elevated costs in Q1 2025 have already put pressure on profit margins.
This is evident in the decline in margins, with the operating profit margin falling by 35% to 29.43%, and the pre-tax margin decreasing by 33.48% to 26.63%.
Although management expects costs to moderate after 2025 as production volumes increase, which could help improve profitability and stabilize margins moving forward.
