Shareholders of Conoil Plc have commended its Board of Directors and management for the improved performance attained for the financial account ended December 31, 2010.

The shareholders at the 41st Annual General Meeting (AGM) praised the management for performing creditably considering the economic environment that prevailed during the period under review.

Speaking at the company’s AGM held over the weekend in Ibadan, National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigerian (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu, who spoke the minds of shareholders present at the meeting expressed satisfaction with the overall performance and the growth path which the management has charted for sustained profitability.

According to him , “ We shareholders also commend the first quarter result which showed a quantum leap in profit and turnover.We are happy about the balance sheet, we are happy about the earnings per share ratio and we are happy that Conoil is paying dividend amid the tough challenges facing downstream operators in this country,”

Nwosu, further said that despite the fact the failure of the government to implement the long awaited deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector, which would have allowed marketers to determine their fate and the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), Conoil was still able to post such impressive results.

A review of the Conoil 2010 financial report, show that profit before tax rose by 20.7 per cent from N2,312,367,000 in 2009 to N2,789,977,000; Net Assets increased by 13 per cent from N13,511,103,000 to N15,260,152,000. Turnover recorded a marginal increase from N101,853,173,000 in 2009 to N102,878,494,000; while the Operating Profit on ordinary activities before taxation and exceptional items grew by 6.2 per cent from N3,784,963,000 to N4,020,931,000. The board recommended a dividend of 200 kobo on every 50 kobo ordinary share, which is 33% improvement on the 150 kobo paid in the previous year.

Also, the profit after tax witnessed a similar trend with a sharp rise from N145,687 million in 2010 to N1,185,203 billion this quarter; while the turnover, which was N21,071,554 billion between January and March 2010, appreciated by 77.02 per cent to peak at N37,301,786 billion during the same period this year.

The Chairman, National Coordinating Committee, Zonal Shareholders Association, Brig. Gen. Emmanuel Ikwue, also said at the AGM the shareholders were most delighted to have been granted an increase in dividend .

“Our prayer is that it will continue in that manner. They should keep it up, they are the largest oil products marketer, Ikwue said.

Other shareholders at the meeting said they were optimistic that the dividend for 2010 financial year would be much higher, going by the current upward trend in Conoil performance. In the unaudited trading results for the first quarter of 2011, the company posted N1,742,945 billion profit before tax, a whopping 713.53 per cent increase over the N214,245 million recorded in the corresponding period last year.

Meanwhile, analysis of the company’s five_year financial projections shows that turnover will continue to look up during the period, rising to N118.8 billion in 2012, N127.5 billion in 2013, N136.43 in 2014 and N145.6 billion in 2015. Profit before tax is estimated at N4.75 billion in 2012, N5.09 in 2013, N5.5 billion in 2014 and N5.83 billion in 2015; while profit after tax is expected to increase to N3.23 billion in 2012, N3.5 billion in 2013, N3.71 billion in 2014 and N3.96 billion in 2015.