The Gross profit for the company also dropped from $81.4 million in Q1 2019 to $33.1 million  at the end of Q1 2020.

This marks a plunge of 59.3 per cent. Profit before deferred Tax / Loss stood at ($105.8 million) Q1 2020, from profit before deferred tax of $35.8 million in Q1 2019, representing a downturn of 395.5 per cent.

Chief Executive Officer, Austin Avuru, said, “Against the twin crises of significantly reduced oil demand and the price war, Seplat continues to demonstrate its resilience because of its ongoing philosophy of prudent financial management, the careful mitigation of risk and a keen focus on managing factors of the business that are within our control.

“We have the benefit of long-term contracted gas revenues that are insulated from oil market volatility. We are achieving substantial cost reductions from our suppliers and managing our own costs even more carefully in this unprecedented and challenging period. We are in constant dialogue with partners on monies owed and are pleased to report that our cash flow remains robust and we have significant cash in reserve. This, coupled with the majority of our debt repayment obligations extending beyond 2021, gives us confidence that we can continue to operate comfortably within the covenants on all lines of debt.”

To assist with the COVID-19 pandemic, Avuru added that the company has provided medical and food donations as part of its ongoing commitment
to local and state communities and “We will continue to do whatever we can to support those upon whom we depend for our business. The challenges before us remain significant, but through our extensive scenario planning, we are confident that the resilience and discipline of our business will help us through this unprecedented time and strengthen our position as Nigeria’s leading independent oil and gas producer.”

In view of the current COVID-19 pandemic, Seplat obtained approval from the Nigeria Corporate Affairs Commission to hold its AGM onMay  28, 2020 by proxy only.