Yemisi Izuora
Shareholders of Forte oil has agreed to proposed sale of the company’s assets disposal.
The consensus was reached during the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Bespoke Event Centre, Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos, as shareholders agreed with the directors on the sale of the company’s operations in Ghana, AP Oil & Gas Ghana Limited.
Chairman of Forte Oil, Mr Femi Otedola, who presided over the 39th AGM, explained that the reason for this move was to allow the firm focus more on its Nigerian businesses.
According to him, Forte Oil has established itself as a foremost indigenous petroleum marketing company with a rich history and strong operational platforms.
He explained to the shareholders that although power business was profitable, it has huge receivables due from the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) and a significant portion of its distributed earnings was also utilised in servicing the acquisition debt finance.
Otedola, emphasised that the planned restructuring will have huge positive impact on the company’s earnings, assuring shareholders that they should get reward for this in the 2018 business year through the payment of dividend.
Mr Otedola said despite the challenges the company faced last year, Forte Oil managed to churn out a highly impressive performance.
The restructuring is expected to take about six to nine months to materialise.
Last year, Forte Oil Plc recorded revenue of N129.4 billion, showing a decrease of 12 percent from N148.6 billion in 2016.
However, its profit after tax increased by 323 percent to 12.2 billion in 2017 from N2.9 billion achieved in 2016.
The firm disclosed in the 2017 earnings that its cost of sales fell to N105.3 billion from N128 billion in 2016, making it to close the year with a gross profit of N24.1 billion, up from N20.6 billion in 2016.
Apart from AP Oil & Gas Ghana Limited to be sold by Forte Oil, other assets on the list include Forte Upstream Services Limited and Amperion Power Distribution Company Limited, where the firm has 100 percent and 57 percent stakes respectively.