31st Mar 2014 09:08
LONDON (Alliance News) - African Potash Ltd Monday said it swung to a pretax loss in its first half, as operating expenses were hit by the development of operations in the Republic of Congo.
The sub-Sahara focused potash exploration and development company, which is yet to produce revenues, posted a pretax loss of USD554,000 for the six months ended December 31, 2013, from a pretax profit of USD1.2 million the previous year.
However, the 2012 figure benefited from a USD1.4 million reversal of an impairment charge, without which the company would have posted a USD288,000 pretax loss.
The company said its operating expenses increased 54% to USD555,000 from USD360,000 as the company focused on the development of its Lac Dinga Project in the Republic of Congo.
Earlier in this month, African Potash said it had completed the acquisition of exploration seismic data at the Lac Dinga Project, and initial reviews of the data indicated structural continuity from known and tested potash regions and a high potential for the presence of commercial potash mineralisation in the southern project area.
The company said Monday that it still expects Lac Dinga to deliver significant value to shareholders and noted that, despite drilling not commencing according to its original schedule, planning has now begun for a more cost effective and efficient exploration programme.
African Potash shares were down 15% to 2.65 pence, putting it in the top three AIM fallers Monday.
By Tom McIvor; [email protected]; @TomMcIvor1
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