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Ardova PLC grows post-acquisition profit by 520% to N3.9bn

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UGO AMADI

 

ARDOVA Plc, formerly known as Forte Oil Plc, has recorded impressive growths in the top-line and bottom-line in its first audited results after the divestment by its former majority core investor, Mr Femi Otedola.

 

Ignite Investments and Commodities Limited led by Prudent Energy Services Limited had in June 2019 completed the acquisition of 74.02 per cent majority equity stake in Forte Oil from the company’s erstwhile chairman, Mr. Femi Otedola.

 

The transaction was valued at about N64 billion. The company subsequently changed its name to Ardova.

 

Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of Ardova for the year ended December 31, 2019 showed that turnover rose from N134.71 billion in 2018 to N176.55 billion in 2019. Gross profit declined slightly from N11.33 billion to N11.28 billion. Profit before tax however rose by 351.5 per cent from N1.03 billion to N4.65 billion. Profit after tax also jumped by 520 per cent from N631.47 million in 2018 to N3.92 billion in 2019. With these, earnings per share increased from 48 kobo in 2018 to N3 in 2019.

 

Chairman of Ignite Investments and Commodities Limited and founder and chief executive officer of Prudent Energy Services Limited, Mr Abdulwasiu Sowami, has said the acquisition was a strategic investment in his company’s quest to continuously add value to the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

 

Sowami, who took over from Otedola as chairman of then Forte Oil, said next phase of Ardova’s growth will focus on increasing volumes, diversifying business operations, widening distribution networks and extracting potential synergies with partners.

 

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) had on February 24, 2020 formally subscribed Ardova as the listing and trading name for the petroleum-marketing company, completing a process that started in December 2019 when shareholders at their extraordinary general meeting approved the new name.

 

Ignite Investments and Commodities Limited had immediately after the June 2019 acquisition taken over the management of the company. The new core investor had changed the board of the company to reflect the new ownership structure.

 

Shareholders of the company also approved resolutions that would enable the company’s new core investor to consolidate its downstream assets through acquisition and transferred of existing downstream assets by the new core investor.

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