Aradel’s Earnings Falls by 82% on N721 Billion Tax Provisions…Nonetheless Declares N7 Interim Dividend
Despite a strong revenue growth, Arabel Holdings Plc recorded a significant drop in earnings in year-to-date nine-month September 2026 with N721 billion provisions for tax resulting into a profit after tax of N43.3 billion ($32 million), a drop of 82% from the N245.1 billion recorded in 2025.
This announcement was made in its nine-month unaudited financial statements filed at the Nigerian Exchange Group over the weekend.
Aradel had banked on strong production growth and spike in prices (across its crude oil, gas and refined products portfolio) in 2026 to record a significant boost in revenue which stood at almost N4 trillion in 2026, a 633% growth from the N539 billion it was in 2025.
Crude oil, which is over 65% of its income line, has witnessed significant price spikes in 2026 on account of the United States/Israel war with Israel as well as the unrelenting spat between Russia and Ukraine. Oil price had surged to an average of around $85 in 2026 compared to the $70 average in 2025.
Aradel tax provision is a 1,187% hike from the N56 billion provision in 2025. Tax provisions across many organizations have spiked in 2026 against the background of the drive for enhancement of the new Tax Reform Act that came into implementation in January 2026.
Despite the fall in earnings, the company still declared an interim dividend of N7 for the nine-month period, according to a statement signed by Titilola Omisore, its Company Secretary and Group General Counsel.
There are strong indications that the company’s future earnings may also be impacted by foreign exchange loss as it posted a total comprehensive income loss of N86 billion in 2025 as against N191 billion in the previous year. This may have been as a result of possible transactions (e.g. future trades) consummated at different exchange rates between transaction dates and delivery dates.
In the last one year, naira has strengthened relative to the dollar in a development that has made transactions conducted in the dollar to translate into a lower naira value. This implies that unrealized dollar transactions or deposits in 2025 would be less in value (in naira) in the same period in 2026.
Information obtained from the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shows that the United States dollar exchanged for between N1,484 and N1,529 in September 2025 as against N1,320 and N1,350 in the same period in 2025.
