Nigerian oil magnate Wale Tinubu’s Oando posts $51 million profit in 2023

Key Points:

Oando Plc reported a profit of N74.7 billion ($51 million) for 2023, reversing a prior year loss of N81.2 billion ($54.5 million).
Oando’s 2023 revenue soared by 71% to N3.4 trillion ($2.3 billion), driven by increased trading activity and favorable exchange rates.
Despite pipeline vandalism, Oando’s 2023 average production slightly increased to 20,837 barrels per day, aided by repaired shut-in wells.

Oando Plc, Nigeria’s prominent integrated energy solutions provider led by oil magnate Wale Tinubu, reported a profit of N74.7 billion ($51 million) for the 2023 fiscal year, exceeding market expectations and reversing a loss of N81.2 billion ($54.5 million) from 2022.

According to the company’s recently published unaudited financial results, Oando’s revenue soared by 71 percent, from nearly N2 trillion ($1.34 billion) in 2022 to N3.4 trillion ($2.3 billion) in 2023. This significant growth was attributed to increased trading activity and favorable exchange rate translations, despite a decline in oil, gas, and NGL production volumes and prices.

Oando sees slight production increase

The group’s average production for 2023 was 20,837 barrels per day, slightly up from 20,703 barrels per day in 2022. This included 6,024 barrels per day of crude oil, 241 barrels per day of NGLs, and 14,572 barrels of oil equivalent per day of natural gas. The production increase was due to the repair of shut-in wells, despite ongoing sabotage activities.

The revenue surge, combined with significant foreign exchange gains on the group’s US dollar-denominated monetary assets, offset an increase in administrative expenses due to the Naira devaluation. This pushed Oando’s profit above the $50 million mark.

Oando posts $51 million profit amid challenges

“Despite the persistent pipeline vandalism across the Niger Delta, which continues to dampen crude production, we achieved a profit after tax of N74.7 billion ($51 million) in 2023,” said Wale Tinubu, Group CEO of Oando Plc. “This was largely driven by increased trading volumes due to our strategic global partnerships and net foreign exchange gains on our foreign currency-denominated assets.”

Tinubu also highlighted the signing of the Sale and Purchase Agreement with Eni for the acquisition of 100 percent of NAOC Limited’s shares as a pivotal moment for Oando. “Our focus is now on completing the acquisition and seamlessly integrating operations to deliver exceptional value to our shareholders,” he added.

Wale Tinubu’s energy sector influence

Under Wale Tinubu’s leadership, Oando has transformed into a multinational energy player across the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors. The company’s dual listing on the Nigerian and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges underscores its regional and global reach.

Through Ocean and Oil Development Partners (OODP), co-owned with Omamofe Boyo, Tinubu indirectly holds a significant 66.67 percent stake in Oando, cementing his influence in Nigeria’s energy sector.

The group’s impressive financial performance reduced its retained loss from N568 billion ($384.9 million) as of December 31, 2022, to N488 billion ($330 million) as of December 31, 2023. Meanwhile, total assets surged from N1.252 trillion ($846.2 million) to N3.143 trillion ($2.1 billion) over the same period.