27th Apr 2021 09:53
(Alliance News) - Vivo Energy PLC on Tuesday said that it had seen a strong start to the year which reinforced confidence in the business.
Gross cash profit for the first quarter was USD195 million, 8.9% higher than the prior year's USD179 million.
Vivo is a downstream petroleum company which sells branded products from Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Engen Petroleum on the African continent. Vivo is dual listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges.
First quarter volumes continued to recover from the pandemic's impact but were 4.6% lower year-on-year at 2,483 million litres from 2,602 litres. Retail was highlighted as an area of growth, with volumes up 4% on 2020's first quarter, boosted by "continued network expansion".
Unit margins remained strong at USD79 per thousand litres.
Looking ahead, Vivo pointed to its strong liquidity position in enabling it to look for growth opportunities in African markets.
"We delivered a strong start to 2021, with first quarter gross cash profit increasing by 9% to USD195 million", .
Chief Executive Christian Chammas said: "We have already made good progress towards our target of opening 90-110 net new sites this year and continue to develop our customer offerings while protecting the health and safety of our people and customers.
"As we move through the year, we expect the recovery to continue, albeit subject to potential impacts from the prevailing mobility restrictions, with the strong first quarter reinforcing our confidence in the business moving forwards."
Vivo shares were up 0.1% at 102.70 pence each in London on Tuesday morning. The stock last closed at ZAR20.70 each on Monday in Johannesburg, with South African markets closed on Tuesday for Freedom Day.
By Will Paige; [email protected]
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