Shareholders of MRS Oil Nigeria Plc will receive a 20 per cent increase in their shares after the board of the oil-marketing company decided to distribute bonus shares on the back of a N2.38 billion tax gain, The Nation reports.

Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of MRS Oil Nigeria for the year ended December 31, 2017 showed that the company struggled with poor sales and declining margin during the year, ending the year with a pre-tax loss of N996.61 million. However, a tax write-back or gain of N2.38 billion in 2017 boosted the company’s net profit to N1.39 billion.

The report showed that turnover dropped marginally from N109.64 billion in 2016 to N107.09 billion in 2017. Profit before tax reversed from N2.29 billion in 2016 to a loss of N996.61 million in 2017. Tax gain stood at N2.38 billion in 2017 as against tax provisions of N821.44 million in 2016. With these, net profit stood at N1.39 billion in 2017 as against N1.47 billion in 2016. Earnings per share stood at N5.45 in 2017 compared with N5.77 in 2016.

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