Nigerian oil products distributor Ardova Plc saw profit rise in the fourth quarter of the year to its highest in at least four years as sales rose faster than costs.The higher sales and profit margin contrasted with TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeria, whose sales and profit fell in the fourth quarter..TotalEnergies Nigeria Q4 lube profit slips.The contrast could partly reflect the blenders’ different share of term and spot base oils supplies. Spot supplies reflect changes in prices more quickly than term volumes.Europe’s Group I base oils spot prices fell by 30pc in the fourth quarter of last year from the previous three months.Improving availability of supplies from Europe in the second half of the year also curbed Nigerian importers’ need to seek shipments from the US.Tight availability and high prices in Europe in the first half of last year had triggered a surge in shipments from the US during that period.Ardova is the sole distributor of Shell lubricants in Nigeria for the automotive and industrial sectors.Its operating profit of 1.36bn Nigerian Naira ($2.96mn) in the final three months of last year rose more than sixfold from N210.13mn in the third quarter and from a N176.81mn loss during the same period a year earlier..Profit rose on the back of a 17pc rise in sales from the third quarter to a record high.The higher sales contrasted with a 1.4pc drop in costs during the same period.Sales rose and costs fell even in the face of slowing economic growth and the ongoing depreciation of Nigeria’s currency.The lube unit’s operating profit margin of 14.8pc in the fourth quarter rose from 2.7pc during the previous three months.Its sales accounted for 16pc of Ardova’s total sales and more than 52pc of its total gross profit.Ardova produces and distributes lubricants manufactured at its blending plant in Apapa.It is also a major distributor of petroleum products throughout Nigeria..Europe’s Nov exports to Nigeria fall
