Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc says it remains focused on delivering returns on investment to shareholders through regular dividend distributions and capital growth amid the current headwinds occasioned by COVID -19 pandemic and low oil prices.
Addressing shareholders and other stakeholders during the company’s 7th Annual General Meeting in Lagos recently, its Chairman, Dr Ambrose Orjiako, said that amid the current headwinds occasioned by the prevailing global coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices, Seplat would continue to maintain strict financial discipline over investment decisions, while also embedding high standards of corporate governance and transparency; strong commitment, sustainable business; and effective management of risks with a strong HSE culture.
“From inception, we made it clear that our shareholders will continue to reap two major benefits which are dividend and growth in their investment. We have kept up with the payment of dividends and we will continue to do so. We have no plan to deviate from this. 2020 could be a challenging year but we have not taken a decision not to pay dividend.
“I believe that Seplat has an important role to play throughout the energy transition that is set to occur in the years and decades ahead, not least through the impact we can have by scaling up our domestic gas supply business and displacing imported diesel fuels that are being burned for power generation and helping Nigeria benefit from the social and economic multiplier effects that reliable and affordable power availability can bring,” he said.
According to him, “the Board believes that such a corporate transition would require a different kind of organisational structure, people skills set and mentality to compete well in the expanded space. In view of this, over the course of 2020, we will be reviewing the current organisational and systems structure.”
The Seplat Chairman thereafter assured that the fundamentals of the company’s core business remains strong and through the effective integration of the Eland acquisition, the combined business will have greater scale and value creation opportunities to ensnare even as the investment case for the company remains compelling.