18th Sep 2014 11:11
(An item published at 0848 BST misstated the production figures. The correct version follows.)
LONDON (Alliance News) - Iofina PLC shares dropped in early trade on Thursday after the company said its production volumes in August dropped from July and said its production guidance for the year has been revised below market and management expectations.
Shares in the company were down 14% to 46.831 pence on Thursday, making it the second worst performer on the AIM All-Share.
The iodine and iodine specialty chemicals derivatives explorer said crystallised iodine production in August was at 23.6 metric tonnes, down from the 24.5 tonnes produced in July. The group said the fall was down to a combination of factors, including continued fracking, unanticipated design changes at its IO5 and IO6 iodine extraction plants, and a delayed salt water disposal site upgrade.
The company said these factors had a short-term impact on production and said it has normalised in the past week.
The company also said its was reviewing its production forecasts for 2014 and is now predicting 325-350 tonnes of crystallised iodine production for the full year. It said this figure is below both market expectations and management targets.
The company did highlight one bright spot, saying it expects revenue to September to surpass its total sales in all of 2013.
"Whilst iodine production year to date has been below our expectations, we are encouraged that iodine production moving forward will show a favourable trend as these new short term items are rectified," said Iofina Chief Executive Tom Becker.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
Copyright 2014 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Iofina