Aradel Holdings Plc’s after-tax profit climbed 30 percent in the first half of the year, a comparatively modest gain that masked far steeper growth further up the income statement, as a sharply higher tax bill ate into the windfall from surging oil and gas output.
The Lagos-listed energy group reported profit after tax of N191 billion for the six months ended June 30, up from N146.4 billion a year earlier, according to unaudited results released Friday.
The increase trailed well behind the 293 percent jump in pre-tax profit, which reached N752.7 billion, after the company’s tax expense ballooned to N561.7 billion from N44.9 billion in the same period last year.
The gap between the two figures underscores how much of Aradel’s operational windfall is now flowing to government coffers rather than shareholders, even as the underlying business expanded at a pace few Nigerian companies can match.
Revenue more than sextupled to N2,491.5 billion from N368.1 billion, driven by a production base that Aradel has transformed since folding in ND Western and other assets over the past year.
