The total expenses made on transportation and freight costs of oil products by three major oil marketing companies in the country in the first six months of the year amounted to N1.5bn.
This is in contrast to the N1.9bn the oil firms spent for the same purpose in 2019.
The oil marketing companies, Total Nigeria Plc, MRS Oil Nigeria Plc and Conoil, saw their combined transport expenses for the period ended June 30 decline by N400m.
This is a 21.05 per cent reduction in transport costs in the first half of the year, compared with the same period of 2019.
The unaudited financial statements of the companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange showed that they collectively spent a lesser amount on freight and transportation costs in the first half of the year.
This coming on the back of a lockdown that restricted activities with strict movement conditions like curfews that negatively impacted the delivery of goods and services.
Total Nigeria spent N707.7m by June 2020 compared to N864.3m by June 2019 in terms of transport supplies expenses incurred by the oil firm, according to checks by our correspondent.
Conoil spent N722.1m by June 2020 compared to N948.3m by June 2019 in terms of freight costs incurred by the oil firm.
MRS Oil Nigeria spent N144.8m by June 2020 compared to N170.6m by June 2019 in terms of freight expenses incurred by the oil firm.
Meanwhile, Total Nigeria, a subsidiary of French oil major, Total, recorded a loss of N537.19m in the first half of the year compared to a profit after tax of N129.97m in the same period of 2019.
Its revenue fell by 29 per cent to N106.70bn from N150.83bn.
MRS Oil Nigeria Plc made a loss of N329.71m in the first half of the year, compared to N990.71m loss in H1 2019. The company saw its revenue drop to N23.68bn from N29.79bn.
Conoil’s after-tax profit dipped by 67 per cent to N338.69m in the first half of the year from N1.03bn in H1 2019, while its revenue fell to N57.46bn from N72.22bn.
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had on March 30, ordered lockdown for an initial period of 14 days in the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and, Ogun states.
