FX losses dip Total Energies’ profit by 20% in 2023

TOTAL Energies and Marketing Nigeria Plc has recorded a decline in its profit after tax by 19.8 percent to N12.93 billion, while its profit before tax declined by 28.2 percent to N17.61 billion following a tax expense of N4.68 billion in 2023.

According to the company’s financial statement for full year 2023 submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the dip in profit is as a result of foreign exchange (FX) losses printed at N11.50 billion as against FX gains of N71.88 million in Q4’22.

As a result, the 2023 EPS settled lower at N38.09 from N47.47 in 2022.  Net finance cost surged by 101.1 percent to N6.31 billion in 2023 due to  87.5 percent increase in finance cost.

In 2023, the company reported N635.95 billion in revenue, which represents about 32 percent year-on-year growth from N482.47 billion in the corresponding period of 2022.

This was driven by improvement in revenue generated from streams such as the sales of petroleum products, which came at N509.31 billion and the sale of lubricants and other products of N126.64 billion.

The total turnover was offset by costs which erupted by 31 percent to N554.13 billion and impairment loss on financial assets to N358.57 million. On the flip side, the net income slipped by 19.8 percent to N12.93 billion in 2023 from N16.12 billion in the prior year. This fall in profit was traced to high financing costs which rose 87.6 percent to N10.11 billion.

According to analysts, the company’s performance mirrors the numerous challenges prevalent in the downstream oil and gas sector, with the primary issues being the FX losses and escalating finance costs that partly dragged the company’s earnings.