Eterna Plc swung back into the black in the first half of 2025 after two consecutive years of losses, buoyed by higher fuel sales and lower finance costs, though second-quarter results showed lingering cost pressures.
The Lagos-based oil marketing company posted a half-year profit of N573.8 million, reversing a N4.8 billion loss a year earlier. Revenue rose 6.9 percent year-on-year to N157.65 billion, driven largely by a 3.8 percent increase in fuel sales to N133.45 billion and a 33 percent jump in lubricants revenue to N23.01 billion.
Gross profit, however, slumped 60 percent to N6.9 billion as cost of sales climbed faster than turnover, reflecting high importation and distribution expenses. The gross margin narrowed to 4.4 percent from 11.8 percent in the same period last year.
Operating profit fell sharply to N2.34 billion from N12.92 billion in H1 2024, but a swing to a N13 million foreign exchange gain from a N14.46 billion loss last year, coupled with a 61.5 percent drop in finance costs to N782.7 million, helped lift bottom-line performance.
Second-quarter results were weaker. The company recorded a loss of N287.9 million, though this was a significant improvement from the N771.5 million loss in Q2 2024. Revenue grew 5.8 percent to N84.38 billion, but gross profit fell 62 percent to N2.59 billion amid rising administrative expenses and a loss on asset disposals.
Eterna’s balance sheet showed modest strengthening, with total equity up 11.8 percent from year-end 2024 to N5.42 billion, supported by the retained profit. Net debt fell as borrowings dropped 22.8 percent to N39.41 billion, while cash and bank balances stood at N2.45 billion.
The return to profitability comes after Eterna reported a combined N10.71 billion loss in H1 2023 and 2024, pressured by foreign exchange volatility, rising finance costs, and thin margins. The H1 2025 rebound suggests that cost management, an improved foreign exchange position, and steady product demand are helping the company stabilise.
Still, the Q2 setback underscores the vulnerability of earnings to cost swings and competitive pressures in Nigeria’s downstream oil sector. The company will need to sustain revenue growth and protect margins in the second half to consolidate its turnaround.
For the third quarter of 2025, Eterna projects revenue of N60.96 billion, profit before tax of N496.94 million, and profit after tax of N192.12 million. This would mark a sequential drop from H1 performance, reflecting seasonality in fuel demand and continued cost challenges, but would keep the company on track for a profitable full-year outcome.
According to the African Stock Exchange, Eterna Plc has gained 56.4 percent year-to-date as of Friday, August 8, starting 2025 at N24.3 per share, ranking it 73rd on the NGX in terms of year-to-date performance.
“Investors should, however, take caution of ETERNA’s recent bad performance, having lost 7 percent of its value in the past four weeks,” the platform, which tracked stock performance across Africa, said.
