16th Aug 2016 11:20
LONDON (Alliance News) - Russia-focused Ovoca Gold PLC on Tuesday said its pretax loss widened in the first half of its financial year as it continued to pursue gold activities, and said it remains active in litigation regarding its outstanding loan to Taymura LLC.
Taymura was declared bankrupt in February 2016.
Ovoca posted a pretax loss of EUR2.2 million for the six months ended June 30, widened from EUR1.0 million for the same period a year earlier, as administrative expenses rose and it incurred other unspecified losses.
The company said the global market recovery of the gold mining sector "positively reflected" in its investment portfolio during the period, which it said boosted its financial position. This brought renewed attention to its Stakhanovsky project in the Magadan region of Russia, Ovoca said, noting that it continued to search for an investor for the project.
Ovoca said it has also remained very active in recovering its outstanding loan to the now-bankrupt Taymura. During the six month period, Ovoca said it recovered USD740,621 in respect of assigned receivables in relation to the loan.
Ovoca said "despite the unconstructive legal tactics Taymura beneficiaries have been using, management still believes there is a strong chance to achieve substantial repayment of the company's loan".
Ovoca said it will continue to "vigorously defend our interests in the bankruptcy procedure of Taymura and seek all legal options available to us for the benefit of the company".
Shares in Ovoca were down 3.2% at 12.11 pence on Tuesday.
By Hannah Boland; [email protected]; @Hannaheboland
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