The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) increased its profit after tax by 33 percent to ₦7.2tn in 2025, even as lower crude oil prices and reduced product volumes weighed on its revenue.
The company also increased taxes, royalties and other payments to the government by 39 percent to ₦22.3tn during the year, according to its 2025 audited financial results.
NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, disclosed the figures on Tuesday in Abuja during a media engagement on the company’s 2025 financial performance, operational achievements and strategic direction.
Ojulari said profit after tax rose by ₦1.8tn, from ₦5.4tn in 2024 to ₦7.2tn in 2025. Revenue stood at ₦34.5tn, while earnings per share reached ₦35.9.
The improved bottom-line performance came despite weaker revenue conditions caused by lower international crude prices and reduced petroleum product volumes following changes in the domestic market after subsidy removal.
Ojulari said NNPCL was able to grow its profit by improving operational efficiency and maintaining financial discipline across its businesses.
“Revenue declined as crude oil prices fell for those, as you recall, in 2025. But we also had some decline that resulted from a wide product volume reduction. Following the market regulation, as you know, with the removal of subsidy,” he said.
He added that the company’s profitability improved because of changes in the way it operated and tighter financial management.
“Yet, profit grew because we improved the way we operate. And we maintained discipline across our businesses,” Ojulari said.
The company’s operational performance also strengthened during the year, with crude oil and condensate production reaching a five-year peak of 1.77 million barrels per day.
Nigerian gas supply also rose to 7.2 billion standard cubic feet per day, its highest level in three years, according to the GCEO.
Ojulari said the production gains reflected continued attention to NNPCL’s assets and infrastructure as the company seeks to improve its commercial performance.
“These gains reflect sustained attention to our assets, infrastructure and our focus on delivering visible results,” he said.
He said the stronger financial and operational results would give NNPCL greater capacity to invest in its businesses, contribute to public revenue and support Nigeria’s energy security.
The GCEO, however, said the improved performance would also raise expectations for the company and require management to build the capacity needed to sustain and exceed the gains.
“The numbers matter because of what they enable. Stronger performance gives NNPCL more capacity to invest, more capacity to contribute to public revenue and strengthen Nigeria’s energy security. It also gives us higher standards to meet,” he said.
Ojulari added that the company would seek to outperform its latest results in subsequent years.
“As we deliver exceptional results, the following year we strive to even beat those records,” he said.
He said maintaining strong financial results would require continuous investment in organisational and operational capacity.
“So having a good performance is not just easy. It means that the bar has been set one level higher. So we now need to focus on building the capacity to deliver,” Ojulari said.
The 2025 results mark another improvement in NNPCL’s reported profitability, with the company having recorded ₦5.4tn profit after tax in 2024.
The latest figures show that NNPCL’s profit increased despite pressure on revenue, while government remittances also rose substantially alongside improvements in crude and gas production.
The company did not provide a detailed breakdown in the presentation of how individual business segments contributed to the increase in profit.