22nd May 2019 12:51
LONDON (Alliance News) - Energiser Investments PLC on Wednesday said it swung to a loss in 2018 due to a substantial provision against its investment in KCR Residential REIT PLC and a lack of revenue.
Shares in Energiser were down 10% at 0.65 pence in early afternoon trade.
Energiser's annual pretax loss was GBP498,000. Of thise, GBP390,000 resulted from a provision against the company's KCR investment after KCR's share price declined, resulting in a drop in the value of Energiser's investment in the real estate investment trust. No such provision was made in 2017.
Moreover, Energiser posted no revenue in 2018 as it sold its investment properties in December 2017. This compares to GBP138,000 of revenue in 2017.
As at December 31, the investment firm's net assets had fallen to GBP1.3 million from GBP1.8 million a year before, equating to 1.03 pence per share at the end of 2018 versus 1.43p per share at the end of 2017.
"Our investment in KCR represents a substantial part of our asset base, and we will continue to watch its progress whilst searching for other investment opportunities to achieve capital growth," said Energiser Chair Stephen Wicks.
KCR Residential REIT was untraded on Wednesday. The stock is down 30% in the past 12 months.