12th Sep 2019 11:59
(Alliance News) - Coro Energy PLC on Thursday said its loss widened in the first half of the year due to expenses from its Eurobond issue and corporate costs from development in south east Asia.
The upstream oil and gas company posted a USD4.7 million pretax loss for the six months ended June 30, more than twice the loss it posted the year before.
This was the result of a more than USD1 million rise in general and administrative expenses to USD2.9 million from USD1.8 million, coupled with an even larger increase in finance expense to USD1.7 million from only USD81,000.
Non-Executive Chair James Parsons said the loss "was driven by corporate costs including ongoing business development activities in south east Asia". Moreover, the firm also issued a EUR22.5 million Eurobond which incurred "interest charges and foreign exchange losses" in the half year.
Parsons said "the group is well positioned to deliver growth in shareholder value". This was based on Coro's acquisition of a 15% interest in the Duyung production sharing contract in Indonesia in February through a cash and share deal worth USD4.8 million. Parsons said this has "exposed shareholders to near-term exploration and appraisal drilling through the upcoming 2019 Duyung PSC drilling campaign."
Parsons was also pleased with the firm's liquidity position after its bond issue.
Shares in Coro were flat at 3.10 pence in London on Thursday morning.
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