….reports ₦1.98 Trillion Revenue
L - R :Managing Director ,NIPCO Plc ,Suresh Kumar ; Chairman , Bestman Anekwe ; Managing Partner P.C .OBI & CO, Company Secretaries of NIPCO Plc Chief Paul Chukwuma Obi ,SAN during the Company's 22nd Annual General Meeting held at Abuja Continental Hotel.
NIPCO Plc has attributed its strong financial performance in 2025 to strategic diversification, expansion of its gas business and disciplined cost management, enabling the company to navigate one of the most challenging years for Nigeria’s downstream petroleum industry.
Speaking on the sidelines of the company’s 22nd Annual General Meeting in Abuja, Managing Director Suresh Kumar said the operating environment in 2025 was reshaped by the full deregulation of the downstream sector, market-based petrol pricing, supply chain disruptions and intensified competition following the emergence of the Dangote Refinery.
According to Kumar, these developments significantly compressed margins across the industry, forcing operators to adopt more resilient business models.
“2025 tested the resilience of every operator. Margins were squeezed, pricing became volatile, and only companies with strong fundamentals and a clear strategy could stay afloat. For NIPCO, it was about adapting quickly and investing for the long term,” he said.
Kumar explained that although profitability from petrol sales came under pressure, the company mitigated the impact by expanding its nationwide retail network to more than 400 branded filling stations while accelerating investments in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG).
He said NIPCO’s LPG business benefited from growing consumer demand as households increasingly adopted cooking gas, supported by the company’s infrastructure, which includes 19,500 metric tonnes of storage capacity and 10 loading bays capable of handling more than 4,000 metric tonnes of LPG daily.
In the compressed natural gas segment, Kumar said NIPCO Gas Limited strengthened its leadership position by ending 2025 with 25 Auto-CNG stations and more than 8,000 converted vehicles operating on its network.
The company is also expanding its CNG infrastructure, with 20 additional stations currently under construction and another 35 being developed in partnership with NNPC Gas Marketing Limited under the Federal Government’s Presidential CNG Initiative. Once completed, the expanded network is expected to serve more than 200,000 vehicles daily.
Financially, NIPCO reported a turnover of ₦1.98 trillion for the 2025 financial year, while profit before tax and profit after tax both stood at approximately ₦12 billion.
Kumar attributed the performance to prudent financial management, operational efficiency and the company’s deliberate strategy of reducing dependence on petrol sales by expanding into alternative energy businesses.
Reflecting the company’s earnings, shareholders approved a dividend payout of ₦1 billion, equivalent to ₦8.00 per share.
Beyond its core downstream operations, NIPCO also strengthened its long-term investment portfolio during the year.
Kumar disclosed that the company invested £28.7 million in Savannah Energy Plc, increasing its shareholding to nearly 25% as part of a strategy to secure long-term natural gas supply for its expanding energy business.
The company also diversified into the hospitality sector through its subsidiary, 22 Hospitality Limited, which acquired a majority stake in Capital Hotels Plc, owner of the Abuja Continental Hotel.
According to Kumar, the investments are designed to diversify revenue streams, reduce business risk and support the Federal Government’s “Decade of Gas” programme, which seeks to accelerate natural gas utilisation as a transition fuel for Nigeria’s economy.
“The downstream sector in 2025 was unforgiving, but we chose to see opportunity in disruption,” Kumar said.
“By investing in gas, expanding our retail footprint and entering complementary sectors such as hospitality, we have protected shareholder value while laying the foundation for stronger, more sustainable growth.”
As Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market continues to evolve under deregulation, NIPCO’s strategy underscores the growing importance of diversification, gas infrastructure development and disciplined capital allocation in sustaining profitability amid heightened competition and market volatility.
