Conoil Plc and Eterna Plc may play in the same downstream oil space, but their recent journeys are very different.
Conoil’s share price has plunged 45% year-to-date, despite trading at expensive multiples and struggling with razor-thin profit margins. Investors have little dividend comfort to rely on, since its last payout was for the 2023 financial year.
Eterna, on the other hand, has gained 28% this year, trading at far cheaper valuations and showing stronger cash flow discipline.
Still, its earnings momentum has slowed, with 2025 profit likely to fall short of forecasts.
Now let’s dig into the numbers to see which of the two stands out as the stronger investment.
Looking at the numbers, Conoil continues to post profits, supported by its strong base in white products, which account for the bulk of revenue.
This is only about 10% of its full-year 2024 profit, raising concerns that earnings momentum may not be sustained through 2025.
Eterna, on the other hand, tells a weaker story.
On valuation, Eterna looks cheaper, no doubt with a P/E of 6.7x compared to Conoil’s 75x.
But cheaper doesn’t automatically mean better.
So, if you judge strictly by numbers, Eterna is better valued. But if you consider value backed by performance, Conoil takes the edge.
Neither Conoil nor Eterna is doing particularly well. Their margins are razor-thin, and profits are weighed down by the high cost of sales.
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