By Bamidele Famoofo
WorldStage– Energy Nigeria Plc, a bellwether oil and gas stock with dual listings on the Nigerian Exchange ( NGX) and London Stock Exchange ( LSE), delivered a mixed but ultimately resilient financial performance for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, navigating a challenging operating environment marked by rising costs and subdued production revenues.
Revenue declined by 5.22.percent year-on-year to ₦1.163 trillion from ₦1.228 trillion in Q1 2025.
Despite the top-line contraction, the company demonstrated commendable cost discipline as cost of sales fell by 5.97 percent to ₦650.8 billion, slightly outpacing the decline in revenue and resulting in a marginal improvement in gross margin to 44.1 percent from 43.6 percent in Q1 2025. Gross profit consequently came in at ₦512.7 billion, down 4.25 percent from ₦535.4 billion.
Profitability at the operating level came under more pronounced pressure. Other income swung to a net loss of ₦126.4 billion from a loss of ₦67.3 billion in Q1 2025, reflecting a combination of fair value
losses of ₦19.1 billion (up 150.06 percent year-on-year) and a dramatic 830.37 percent surge in impairment losses on financial assets to ₦7.5 billion from just ₦810 million.
These charges weighed heavily on operating performance, causing profit from operating activities to decline by 18.23 percent to ₦295.4 billion from ₦361.3 billion. Operating margin narrowed to 25.4 percent from 29.4 percent. On the positive side, general and administrative expenses were cut sharply by 34.80 percent to ₦64.2 billion from ₦98.4 billion.
Below the operating line, net finance costs worsened by 32.72 percent to ₦60.5 billion, driven by a 30.25 percent increase in finance costs to ₦64.5 billion as the cost of debt servicing rose. The company’s share of losses from its joint ventures also deteriorated significantly, swinging to a loss of ₦5.8 billion from ₦1.1 billion in Q1 2025.
Collectively, these pressures drove profit before tax down 27.19 percent to ₦229.1
billion from ₦314.6 billion. The standout positive of the quarter, however, emerged at the bottom line as income tax expense declined sharply by 36.76 percent to ₦176.6 billion from ₦279.3 billion, providing significant relief and enabling profit after tax to jump 48.40 percent to ₦52.5 billion from ₦35.4 billion.
Earnings per share consequently rose 49.50.percent to ₦77.95 from ₦52.14, meaning shareholders earned considerably more per share despite the weaker pre -tax performance.
Looking at key metrics, performance was decidedly mixed. Net profit margin improved to 4.5 percent from 2.9 percent. Return on equity came in at 2.0 percent and return on assets at just 0.6 percent. The debt-to-equity ratio improved marginally to 53.4 percent from 54.6 percent, while asset turnover remained flat at 0.14x.
On the balance sheet, total assets contracted slightly by 2.13 performance to ₦8.543 trillion from ₦8.729 trillion in December 2025, driven largely by a 5.32 percent decline in property, plant and equipment to ₦4.730 trillion, reflecting depreciation and depletion of the asset base. On the positive side, cash and cash equivalents surged 24.20 percent to ₦817.6 billion from ₦658.3 billion, pointing to strong cash generation in the period. Total liabilities declined by 1.96 percent to ₦5.967 trillion, while shareholders’ equity edged lower by 2.54 percent to ₦2.576 trillion.
Investors have responded with measured indifference so far, as the share price holds steady at ₦10,450 with no meaningful movement in either direction. The market appears to be taking its time to fully assess the results, with discerning investors looking beyond the headline earnings beat to scrutinise the quality of the underlying numbers that drove it.
