Eterna Plc Records Impressive Revenue Growth but Suffers Exchange Rate Woes, Posts Loss in H1 2023

Eterna Plc, a leading player in the Nigerian energy industry, has reported a significant surge in revenue for the first half of 2023 despite facing challenges related to foreign exchange fluctuations.

The company’s Financial Statements for the half-year ended June 30, 2023, revealed a 21.2 percent increase in revenue to N69.34 billion from N57.22 billion recorded in the same period of 2022.

Eterna’s revenue growth was primarily attributed to its main business lines, which encompass fuels, lubricants, and other product distribution, including Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

The fuel sales segment posted a 35 percent rise in revenue for H1 2023 while the lubricants business saw a modest 1.5 percent increase compared to the previous year.

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The company also celebrated a remarkable achievement in its gross profit, recording N8.57 billion as of June 2023, representing a 107 percent increase from N4.14 billion reported in the first half of 2022.

However, the elation over revenue and profit growth was dampened by the impact of foreign exchange turbulence.

Eterna faced a foreign exchange loss of N9.8 billion in H1 2023, a significant jump from the N76.15 million foreign exchange loss reported in the same period of 2022.

As a result of the foreign exchange losses, Eterna reported a concerning N5.5 billion loss before tax for H1 2023, against the N1.58 billion profit before tax reported in the same period in 2022.

This downturn in profitability marked a reversal of fortunes for the company, which had previously rebounded from a loss of N0.9 billion in 2021 to post N2.09 billion profit before tax for the full 2022 financial year.