Aradel Holdings Plc’s unaudited 2025 results show a company that chose to build scale rather than wait for price, with revenue rising 20% to N697.3 billion even as realized prices fell across the board. That top-line growth was driven by the field, not the market: crude lifted climbed 35% to 4.1 mmbbls on production of 5.16 mmbbls and 14,142 bbls/day, gas sold surged 62% to 18.5 Bcf after output hit 18.76 Bcf and a peak rate of 83.8 mmscf/d from the revamp, while refined products sold grew 26% to 302.9 million litres as refinery utilization improved to 49% from 40%.
Yet the same price environment that demanded volume growth also squeezed margins, because average realized oil dropped 15% to $70.3/bbl, gas fell 8% to $1.5/mscf, and refined products declined 10% to $75.5/bbl. Consequently, gross profit retreated 21% to N280.0 billion and gross margin compressed to 40% from 61%, while operating profit slipped 7% to N272.0 billion despite the stronger revenue. The pressure on operating profit, however, was not purely structural. Three non-recurring items hit the line: crude overlifts of 534 kbbls triggered a N34.7 billion stock adjustment expense versus a N26.7 billion credit in 2024, management booked a one-off N25.5 billion provision for price-based royalties pending resolution of the computation mechanism, and staff costs jumped 85% to N94.8 billion on N48.5 billion of Long-Term Incentive Plan payments that vest through 2026.
At the same time, the cost base expanded with activity, as operating and maintenance expenses grew 73% to N42.3 billion on Omerelu field costs, PIA host community provisions, and well work, and depreciation rose 44% to N112.6 billion with higher production and the newly capitalized Well 16 at Ogbele, taking cost of sales to N417.3 billion from N224.6 billion. Still, the story turned decisively below operating profit, because net finance cost eased to N5.3 billion from N6.2 billion as finance income increased 16% to N18.6 billion, and share of profit from associates expanded 523% to N197.0 billion from N31.6 billion.
That surge in associate earnings is the clearest evidence of Aradel’s strategic pivot, with Renaissance Africa Energy contributing 30% or N58.4 billion from a 12.5% equity interest and ND Western delivering 70% or N138.5 billion from 41.67% direct plus 20.8% indirect holdings. The pivot was cemented by two landmark transactions that reset the portfolio: on 13 March 2025 the Renaissance consortium completed the acquisition of 100% of SPDC Limited, giving Aradel an effective 33.3% share, and on 31 December 2025 Aradel closed the purchase of an additional 40% equity in ND Western, lifting its stake to 81.67% and, in turn, its effective interest in Renaissance to 53.33%.
As a result of gaining control, the balance sheet was transformed, with total assets up 495% to N10.4 trillion from N1.7 trillion, and the deal produced a provisional bargain purchase gain of N201 billion ($133 million) pending final valuation within 12 months. Because the ND Western deal closed on the last day of the year, only the statement of financial position was consolidated while the income statement excluded it, meaning the full revenue and cost impact will flow through in 2026.
For that reason, profit before tax rose 46% to N463.7 billion and profit after tax grew 55% to N401.2 billion, even as operating profit fell, because the associate line now carries more weight than direct operations. Meanwhile, cash generation reflected a business in transition: operating cash flow declined 33% to N209.7 billion after a N46.7 billion tax settlement and N108.9 billion of receivables due in Q1 2026, while investing outflows jumped 370.6% to N605.9 billion on capex, N20.9 billion into Renaissance, N430.6 billion into ND Western, and N34.1 billion into Chappal Energies.
To fund that deployment, financing cash inflow swung to N219.7 billion from a N113.8 billion outflow in 2024, driven by N503.8 billion in new borrowings against N139.0 billion in dividend and N116.6 billion in debt repayment, leaving year-end cash at N1.47 trillion against total borrowings of N1.79 trillion non-current and N215.8 billion current.
Notwithstanding the financial repositioning, operations remained safe and stable, with 10.2 million manhours recorded without a Lost Time Injury, and the direct production figures still exclude effective interests of 1,245 bbls/day oil and 45.1 mmscf/day gas from ND Western and 20,100 bbls/day oil and 166.9 mmscf/day gas from Renaissance — volumes that will be consolidated going forward.
Taken together, the results reveal three fundamentals now underpinning Aradel: first, a directly operated base that can out-produce falling prices, as crude oil exports still delivered N440.1 billion or 63% of revenue, up 18%, refined products added N210.8 billion or 30% of revenue, also up 18%, and gas contributed N46.4 billion or 7% of revenue, up 65%; second, an associate network that has become the dominant profit engine before consolidation; and third, a balance sheet with the capacity to absorb N605.9 billion of investing outflows while retaining N1.47 trillion of cash.
Accordingly, the risks are as visible as the upside: the N25.5 billion royalty provision flags regulatory uncertainty, the 534 kbbls overlift points to JV complexity that will only grow with consolidation, and commodity exposure remains given the double-digit drop in realizations. Even so, management’s stated 2026 focus on consolidating the expanded portfolio to enhance scale, improve efficiency, and diversify revenue suggests the operating profit dip of 2025 is the cost of buying control, with the overlift expected to reverse by Q1 2026 and LTIP payments ending that same year. In short, Aradel’s FY 2025 performance shows a shift from price-taker to portfolio integrator — energized for a brighter future because it chose to acquire, consolidate, and diversify while volumes rose, associates compounded, and the groundwork was laid for 2026 to test whether leverage turns into lasting operating leadership.
About Aradel Holdings
Aradel Holdings is a fully integrated energy conglomerate with operations spanning the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry.
Established on March 25, 1992, initially as the Midas Drilling Fund, it became Nigeria’s first integrated oil and gas investment company.
Founded by the late Chief Godwin Aret Adams, Aradel remains a key player in the industry and trades as a private equity entity on the NASD OTC Exchange.
With this upcoming listing on the NGX, Aradel Holdings is poised for a new phase of growth and visibility in the Nigerian capital market.
