Oando Plc on Tuesday announced a profit-after-tax of N3.5 billion for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2016, returning to profitability after two-year loss.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this is against a loss after tax of N47.6 billion posted in the preceding period of 2015.

This is contained in a statement by the company in Lagos.

The result showed that the company posted a turnover of N569 billion against N380 billion recorded in the comparative period of 2015, an increase of 49 per cent.

Its net debt reduced by 35 per cent to N230.6 billion in contrast with N355.4 billion posted in 2015.

The statement reported Mr Wale Tinubu, the company’s Group Chief Executive Officer, as saying that the performance was due to its proactive timely execution of its restructuring programme of growth in upstream division.

Tinubu said that some divestments embarked upon by the company during the period under review resulted in a net debt reduction of 125 billion dollars.

He attributed the company’s return to profitability to focus on dollar denominated earnings.

Tinubu said that 2016 saw the country plunge into a recession for the first time in over two decades.

He added that the company was besieged with liquidity constraints, devaluation of the naira and a slump in oil earnings due to low oil prices intensified by the insurgency in the Niger Delta.

Read more at http://www.herald.ng/oando-returns-profitability-posts-n3-5bn-profit-2016/