Eterna Plc has announced a strong financial performance for the first quarter of 2026, with its pretax profit rising to N1.6 billion from N1.4 billion in the same period last year. This growth was achieved on a revenue base of N70.5 billion, a slight decrease from N73.2 billion in the prior year.

Fuel sales constituted the largest portion of the revenue, accounting for 92.8%, followed by lubricants at 7%, and other sources making up the remainder. The company also saw a significant reduction in its cost of sales, which fell from N68.9 billion to N64.7 billion. This was largely due to a sharp decrease in lubricant-related selling costs, dropping from N11.2 billion to N3.8 billion.

Following these efficiencies, gross profit increased to N5.7 billion, a 32.45% rise year-on-year from N4.3 billion. Operating profit also saw a substantial increase of 35.74% to N2.5 billion, up from N1.8 billion in the previous year, reflecting improved core operations.

After accounting for finance income of N10.04 million, a foreign exchange loss of N109.2 million, and finance costs of N825.8 million, the pretax profit stood at N1.6 billion. Supported by lower tax expenses, the post-tax profit settled strongly at N1.3 billion, a significant increase from N687.2 million in Q1 2025. This represents a 101.52% year-on-year growth.

Earnings per share doubled to N1.06 from N0.53 in the comparable period. Retained earnings also doubled to N2.7 billion. Selling and distribution expenses declined to N19.3 million from N42.4 million, although administrative expenses increased to N3.1 billion from N2.4 billion.