According to the corporate disclosure, Conoil recorded total revenue of N301.72bn for the period ended 31 December 2025. This represents a modest 6.6 per cent decline from the N323.13bn generated in the 2024 financial year, largely reflecting softer fuel purchase volumes and altered consumer demand under volatile pump pricing regimes.
The downstream oil marketer has released its audited corporate filing to the Nigerian Exchange, revealing a sharp drop in profitability for the 2025 financial year, highlighting the mounting macroeconomic headwinds facing retail energy operators across the country.
Despite maintaining robust top-line activities and crossing the N300bn threshold, a steep rise in short-term debt servicing dramatically eroded the company’s bottom-line margins.
It successfully scaled down its cost of sales 6.1 per cent to N278.81bn. However, the slight contraction in gross margins left the firm with less room to absorb substantial operational and financing shocks. Gross profit ultimately eased down by 13.1 per cent to close at N22.91bn.
The primary catalyst behind Conoil’s earnings slump was its financing framework, with its corporate filing indicating that finance costs surged 162.5 per cent to N10.38bn, compared to just N3.95bn in 2024.
This spike directly correlates with the company doubling its reliance on bank credit to preserve market supply lines and support credit sales.
Short-term borrowings ballooned 89.2 per cent to hit N54.24bn.
Consequently, profit before tax fell 77.0 per cent, landing at N2.53bn, down from N11.00bn the year prior. Profit after tax also dropped 75.2 per cent to N2.18bn relative to the N8.77bn posted in 2024, while Earnings Per Share dropped accordingly to 314 kobo from 1,264 kobo.
Analysts note that Nigeria’s deregulated fuel retail ecosystem, severe exchange rate fluctuations, and elevated benchmark interest rates have pushed marketers to finance inventory supply gaps using expensive short-term loans, heavily compressing net margins.
Conoil’s balance sheet recorded an asset base expansion of 21.0 per cent, bringing total assets to N139.01bn. This was backed by an aggressive push in credit positioning as trade receivables expanded 27.5 per cent to N91.66bn, alongside infrastructural asset upgrades. However, total liabilities grew faster, jumping 32.4 per cent to N99.94bn, highlighting growing corporate leverage.
In light of the earnings contraction, the board of directors recommended a final dividend payout of 200 kobo per share for the 2025 financial year. While it guarantees a total cash distribution of approximately N1.39bn to equity holders, the payout is a 42.9 per cent drop from the 350 kobo per share distributed in 2024.