Nigerian blender and distributor Ardova Plc’s lubricants and greases segment reported an increase of more than 200% in its net profit and a large rise in sales revenue for the quarter ending March 31, compared to the same period last year, according to the company’s financial statements.
Net profit for its lubricants and greases segment rose 214% to 1.1 billion naira (U.S. $2.6 million) for the first quarter, improving from ₦419.5 million in the same period last year. Operating profit was up 218% at ₦1.3 billion naira, compared with ₦362.5 million.
Sales for the segment increased 60% to ₦7.6 billion, rising from ₦4.8 billion.
The company manufactures and distributes a wide range of lubricants from its blending plant at its Apapa terminal in Lagos.
Ardova acts as the main distributor for Shell lubricants branded products for the automotive and industrial sectors in Nigeria.
Ardova was formerly known as Forte Oil Plc. In 2019, Ignite Investments and Commodities Ltd. acquired a 74.02% equity stake in Forte Oil Plc’s downstream operations. Later that year, Forte changed its name to Ardova Plc. “On the domestic front, the economy is expected to sustain its growth trajectory in the near term,” the Central Bank of Nigeria said in its February monthly economic report. “This optimistic outlook is hinged on the sustenance of the current crude oil price trend, overcoming of operational constraints in the oil sector, the effective implementation of the Medium-Term National Development Plan, and the positive impact of [Central Bank of Nigeria] interventions on growth-enhancing sectors, among others. However, persistent security challenges and subsisting structural factors, such as infrastructural deficit, remain potential headwinds to the domestic economic outlook.”