29th Dec 2015 08:12
LONDON (Alliance News) - Fertiliser assets company African Potash Ltd on Tuesday said its pretax loss widened significantly in the year to the end of June, mainly due to an impairment charge booked on one of its assets.
The company, which did not generate any revenue in the year, saw its pretax loss widen to USD8.8 million from USD1.0 million, primarily due to a USD7.5 million impairment booked on the value of its Lac Dinga project in the Republic of Congo.
Since June, however, the company has struck a couple of deals which have resulted in it signing fertiliser supply agreements in Africa. The first deal, with COMESA, has seen it secure sales contracts in Zambia and the Republic of Congo, while its second deal, with Beryl Holdings Pty Ltd, has seen it secure deals in Southern Africa.
"Since taking the helm at African Potash in March this year, my mandate has been to transform the company into a dynamic new business capable of capitalising on the highly attractive inherent demand fundamentals for fertiliser and fertiliser constituents across the African continent. In tandem with this, I have listened to the demands of shareholders as to how we can enhance the value of our business in the near term, and this centres on the need for revenue generation," said Executive Chairman Chris Cleverly.
"Using this as a basis for our future growth, within nine months of taking stewardship of African Potash, I was delighted to announce earlier this month our maiden fertiliser trade and revenue generation. Although a relatively small step in terms of volume and revenue, this deal is transformational as it demonstrates our ability to generate healthy margins as a fertiliser trader, which will support our future development as a vertically integrated fertiliser business and potash developer/miner as we look to deliver tangible value for shareholders in the near term," he added.
African Potash shares were up 8.5% to 1.8489 pence early Tuesday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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