Nigeria’s first indigenous oil marketer Conoil said on Monday that it would pay four times the dividend it paid in 2012 after it recorded a 301 percent rise in its 2013 profit before tax, from N1.14 billion ($7 million) in the 2012 fiscal year to N4.57 billion ($28.12 million).

The oil firm, whose majority owner Mike Adenuga also owns telecoms giant Globacom Limited, enjoyed a 2 percent revenue climb to N153 billion ($940.4 million) in 2013 from N149.99 billion ($921.99 million). The company attributed its impressive performance to its innovative means of manufacturing and distributing products, huge financial investment in developing high performance products and the provision of services that match international standard.

The Company’s Board of Directors recommended total dividend payment of N2.78 billion ($17.08 million) for its 2013 financial year at N4.00 for every 50kobo share, representing a 300 percent increase over the N1 paid in 2012. The Company described the bumper dividend as underscoring the company’s reputation of delivering increasing returns on investment for its shareholders.

Mike Adenuga, while previewing conoil’s 2013 performance at the firm’s 43rd annual general meeting, assured shareholders that the company remained committed to growing its business in order to maintain its leadership position in the downstream petroleum sector.

“While we are certainly not immune to the challenges the downstream petroleum sector is expected to face in the coming year as a result of non-regulation of the sector, let me assure you that your company is better positioned to weather the storm”, Adenuga promised.

He also reiterated that, as part of the company’s strategies to sustain its enviable position in the industry, it would improve on the quality of its products and services and ensure that its teeming customers always patronize its fuel and non-fuel products.