By Chioma Obinagwam
Forte Oil has said that it is the only company in the Oil and Gas sector that does not have Foreign Exchange (Forex) denominated loans obligation in Nigeria.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Forte Oil, Akin Akinfemiwa disclosed this at the company’s ‘Facts behind the figures’ event held in Lagos, recently. “Forte Oil is the only company in Nigeria today that doesn’t have Forex denominated loans obligation,” he said.
He disclosed that the group had $47 billion loans with one of the Nigerian banks, which has been paid back. Akinfemiwa noted that this was achieved because of the company’s prudent and proactive management.
On his part, the company’s Group Chief Financial Officer (GCFO), Julius Omodayo-Owotuga stated that the company lost about $1.5 billion to naira devaluation but added that it would have been more if they had not taken proactive measures to pay back their loans.
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“We lost about $1.5 billion due to naira devaluation but if we had not paid off what we owed we would be losing about $7 billion,” he added.
He stated that Forte Oil engages in Forwards and Futures contracts to mitigate Forex exposure.
In a related development, the GCFO said it would raise N50 billion debt capital before the end of 2016 financial year, aimed at optimizing and expanding its Geregu Power Plant asset among other key projects geared towards improving its profitability and return on investments.
Meanwhile, the company reported a Profit after Tax (PAT) growth of 23 per cent from N2.5 billion in June 30, 2015 to N3 billion in June 30, 2016.