Seplat Energy Plc has reported one of its strongest performances to date, with revenue surging 213% YoY to N3.36 trillion in the first nine months of 2025 more than the company’s total revenue between 2020 and 2024 combined.
The growth was fuelled by the integration of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) offshore assets, which boosted output and cemented Seplat’s position as one of West Africa’s leading independents.
However, while the top-line growth is explosive, tax liabilities have squeezed profit margins, with over N700 billion in taxes consuming much of Seplat’s pre-tax profit.
Also, behind those record numbers lies a crucial question: how is Seplat managing the debt that funded the MPNU acquisition fueling the growth?
But first, let us look at the impact of the upstream assets
The integration of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) assets added more than 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, instantly boosting Seplat’s capacity and earnings power.
In the first nine months of 2025, crude oil sales jumped 231% to N3.1 trillion, up from N936 billion last year.
The company’s steady work reviving idle wells, reducing pipeline downtime, and improving export reliability helped push output to 27.9 million barrels, a 270% surge that more than offset the 13% dip in oil prices to $71.93 per barrel.
But Seplat isn’t relying on oil alone. Its gas business grew 59% year-on-year to N215 billion, powered by the Oben and Sapele plants that supply gas to Nigeria’s power grid and industries.
Meanwhile, its move into Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) added another N51 billion, marking its first local LPG cargo as a step that widens its income base and helps protect it from oil market swings.
When Seplat acquired Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) in December 2024, it wasn’t just buying oilfields — it was buying scale.
To make it happen, the company raised about $1.38 billion through a smart blend of debt instruments:
For investors, that decision mattered. Seplat chose debt over new shares, a move that expanded the business without diluting ownership.
It was bold, but calculated, giving Seplat the muscle to close Nigeria’s biggest upstream deal while exposing it to higher global borrowing costs.
Barely months later, Seplat started cleaning up. It refinanced the $650 million notes to mature in 2030, renewed its $80 million RBL on better terms, and fully repaid the $350 million revolving credit and $50 million junior facility all from its operating cash flow.
That strong cash flow helped cut borrowings to N929 billion from N1.01 trillion, proving that the MPNU assets are already paying their way.
By adding local lenders like Zenith Bank to its funding mix, Seplat also strengthened its credit, standing a quiet assurance to investors that its debt is not a risk, but a sign of discipline and growing confidence.
By adding local lenders like Zenith Bank to its funding mix, Seplat also strengthened its credit, standing a quiet assurance to investors that its debt is not a risk, but a sign of discipline and growing confidence.
That cash flow, powered by rising offshore production, allowed Seplat to cut total borrowings to N929 billion, down from N1.01 trillion at the end of 2024.
The move also diversified its lenders, bringing local players like Zenith Bank into the mix, a rare blend for a Nigerian upstream producer that signals Seplat’s growing credibility at home and abroad.
Despite Seplat Energy’s impressive growth in revenue, gross profit, and operating profit, and deleveraging, the company’s net profit margin came under significant pressure during the nine-month period ended September 2025.
The first layer of pressure came from interest expenses on borrowing and leases, which ballooned by 135% to N180.41 billion.
However, Seplat’s robust operating earnings and deleveraging improved its interest coverage ratio to 6.1x compared to 5.4x in the same period of 2024.
Further down the income statement, current tax expenses surged to N731.37 billion from N98.29 billion in 2024, representing a six-fold increase and accounting for over 83% of pre-tax profit.
Consequently, Seplat’s net profit came down to N146.369 billion, and margin declined to 4.4% from 5% a year earlier, despite pre-tax profit nearly tripling to N878.99 billion.
Albeit another of Seplat’s enduring strengths lies in its cash flow generation.
Commenting on the company’s performance, Chief Executive Officer Roger Brown said:
“Our strong cash flows, over $1 billion after tax and deleveraging to 0.27× ND/EBITDA support our commitment to higher shareholder distributions.”
He added that integrity investments will remain a key focus following the Yoho fire incident, while reaffirming progress toward ending routine flaring onshore in Q4 2025 and completing the PIA conversion process for Seplat’s onshore business, which is expected to enhance tax efficiency.
Share price performance
Seplat Energy’s share price has shown less volatility amid a volatile equities market.
The company has also been consistent in rewarding shareholders, paying a total of 167 US cents (about N152 billion) in dividends so far in 2025, ranking it the highest of Nigeria’s dividend-paying companies for the 2025 financial year as of Q3 2025.
Sustaining that momentum will depend on Seplat’s ability to control costs, deliver key growth projects, and translate earnings into long-term value under its 2030 plan.
However, the company’s future performance will also hinge on global crude oil prices, relative security in its operating areas, and the effective implementation of Nigeria’s tax and regulatory reforms under the Petroleum Industry Act.