Japaul Oil & Maritime Services Plc (JAPAULOI), a Nigerian oil-services company, gained the most this year after rising by the daily limit.

The stock rallied a second day, advancing 5 percent to 0.63 naira at the close in Lagos, the commercial capital, the most since Dec. 23.

“Investors believe it has bottomed out, so they expect it to rise,” Raheem Mohammed of Kundila Finance, a Lagos-based brokerage, said by phone today. “The company is making profit so we expect it to climb up to about 80 kobo (0.80 naira) from where it fell,” he said.

Japaul closed at a 52-week high of 1.18 naira on June 28, 2011 and a low of 0.53 naira on April 25, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Full-year net income for 2011 increased to 980.44 million naira ($6 million) from 792.7 million naira, according to figures published in an e-mailed copy of its annual report for last year. Revenue rose to 10.25 billion naira from 7.133 billion naira, according to the report.

To contact the reporter on this story: Vincent Nwanma in Lagos at vnwanma@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dulue Mbachu at dmbachu@bloomberg.net