Seplat Appoints Diamond Bank Former CEO, Emeka Onwuka, As CFO

Seplat Petroleum has appointed Diamond Bank's former Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Emeka Onwuka, as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Onwuka will takeover from Roger Brown next month, as the company undergoes changes amidst decline in its revenue and profit.

Brown has been appointed as the new CEO of Seplat, with the current CEO, Austin Avuru, expected to step down by the end of this months, July 31, 2020. This opened the position for the CFO, which will now be occupied by Onwuka on August 1, 2020. Onwuka would also join the board of Seplat.

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What You Need To Know About Emeka Onwuka

AllNews gathered that Onwuka has more than 30 years’experience in financial services within African continent, with his career path consisting of Enterprise Bank Limited, where he served as Chairman. Onwuka is also is a Partner at Andersen Tax Nigeria and holds various Board  positions at companies including FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, FMDQ Holdings Limited, Ecobank Nigeria Limited and Bharti Airtel Nigeria.

Seplat CEO Step Down Amidst Decline In Revenue, Profit

Avuru, will exit the indigenous oil and gas amidst collapsed revenue and significant decline in profit. AllNews confirmed that the company has had a disappointing first half of 2020, as its gross profit fell by 81.8% when compared to the corresponding period of 2019. Avuru will be leaving the company he had been a part of for 10 years on July 31, 2020.

In the financial statements of Seplat seen by AllNews, the oil and gas company's revenue dropped from N108.9 billion recorded in the first half of 2019 to N80.1 billion in the first six months of this year; this represents a decline of 34.2% between January to June 2020. According to the company, crude oil revenue declined by 16.6% when compared to 2019.

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Seplat pegged its 2020 first half crude oil revenue at US$180.1 million, failing to surpassing the US$216 million of the first half of last year. Meanwhile, gas sales revenue for Seplat decreased to US$53.5 million in this year's first half, falling short of the US$72.2million generated in the corresponding period of 2019; this represent a revenue decline of 25.9%.

The gross profit was same story, as Seplat reported that it significantly crashed by 81.8% to N12.9 billion in the first half of 2020, from the N63.5 billion recording in the corresponding period of last year. The company's operating profit also plummeted by 181%, moving from the N42.7 billion generated in first half of 2019 to N38.7 billion in 2020 first half.