By Tosin Olatokunbo
The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC has published its 2020 Financial Report, barely two weeks after President Muhammadu Buhari announcement that the government owned oil company realised N287 billion Profit After Tax (PAT) last year.
It would be recalled that while announcing the outstanding feat two weeks ago, President Muhammadu Buhari, who is also the Minister of Petroleum Resources, had said: “I have further directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to timely publish the Audited Financial Statements in line with the requirements of the law and as follow up to our commitment to ensuring transparency and accountability by public institutions.”
The Group, said in a press release signed by Garba Deen Muhammad, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, that the publication of the Report is in compliance with the President’s directive.
Among the highlights of the 2020 AFS is the Corporation’s group profit which rose from a loss position of N1.7billion in 2019 to a profit of N287 billion in 2020, for the first time in 44 years.
The Group Managing Director of the NNPC Mal. Mele Kyari, had at various times since the President’s declaration of profit, attributed the turnaround to aggressive cost cutting, automation of the system and renegotiation of contracts downwards by about 30 per cent, among other tough measures.
Further highlights of the AFS revealed that while the Corporation’s group financial position increased in total current assets by 18.7 per cent compared to that of 2019, its total current liabilities increased by 11.4 per cent within the same period.
The group’s working capital remained below the line at N4.56 trillion in 2020 as against N4.44trillion in 2019, the AFS further revealed.
Similarly, the Corporation’s group revenue for the 2020 financial year stood at N3.718 trillion as against N4.634 trillion in 2019, a decrease that could be attributed to the decline in the production and price of crude oil due to the global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is the third consecutive year that the NNPC is publishing its AFS, having done so for 2018 and 2019.
