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Seplat Petroleum Development Company, one of the leading indigenous oil and gas companies with listings on both the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the London Stock Exchange, has notified the management of the NSE and all the stakeholders of a significant transaction in its shares.
The cross deal which took place in Lagos on 11 June 2018 involved 900,000 units of ordinary shares which Macaulay Ofurhie, a non-executive director in the firm, sold from his interests in the company to another party.
The execution of this deal now leaves him with 4,001,611 ordinary shares that amount to 0.68 percent interests in the company. Before this deal, Macaulay Ofurhie controlled 4,901,611 ordinary shares representing 0.83 percent interests in Seplat.
“The company was notified of the sale of 900,000 ordinary shares registered in the name of Mr. Macaulay Ofurhie, a Non-Executive Director of the Company. Following the sale, Mr. Ofurhie now holds a direct interest in 4,001,611 ordinary shares in the Company which equates to a voting interest of 0.68% (based on Issued Share Capital of 588,444,561).
“Further details of the transaction are set out in the attached Notification and Public Disclosure of Transactions by Persons Discharging Managerial Responsibilities and Persons Closely Associated with them. This notification is made in accordance with Rule 12 of the Amendments to the Listing Rules of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and Article 19 of the UK Market Abuse Regulations”, Seplat stated in a note to the Exchange.
At the transaction price of N711.1 per share, the deal amounted to N639.99 million. On the day the cross deal was executed, Seplat’s share price closed at N711.10, implying that the transaction was done at par value.
With this deal, only two individuals and institutions hold interests in the company with percentage shareholding in excess of 5 percent. A.B.C. Orjiako, Seplat’s chairman, controls 47.25 million ordinary shares representing 8.03 percent interests in the company. As at June 11, its interests are worth N33.60 billion.
Austin Avuru, company’s CEO controls 74.55 million ordinary shares representing 12.67 percent and that amounted to N53.01 billion in market capitalisation. CIS PLC-MAIN controls 413.83 million which are equivalent to 70.33 percent and are worth N294.27 billion. Platform Petroleum Limited also controls 44.16 million ordinary shares, translating to 7.50 percent interest in Seplat and are worth N31.40 billion.
Seplat’s gross earnings based on its unaudited first quarter results ended March 2018 rose by 282 percent from N14.47 billion in March 2017 to N55.24 billion in March 2018. Profit after tax(PAT) increased by 66 percent from a loss after tax of N5.86 billion last year March to N6.29 billion same period this year. Total income for the quarter was up by 352 percent from a loss of N3.40 billion in March 2017 to N6.51 billion in March 2018.
Earlier in February 2018, Seplat launched a 5 or 7 year U.S dollar denominated regulation S/144 senior notes offering which the company said would be used to refinance existing indebtedness and for general corporate purposes.
In March 2018, Seplat notified the NSE of successfully refinancing a $300 million revolving credit facility due December 2018 with a new 4-year $300 million revolving credit facility due 2022 which carried initial interest of Libor +6% payable semi-annually.
Furthermore, in April 2018, Seplat announced a $350 million 9.25% bond offering due 2023. It said the notes would be used by the company and guaranteed by certain of its subsidiaries while the gross proceeds of its offering would be used to repay and cancel existing indebtedness.
