29th May 2015 08:52
LONDON (Alliance News) - Oxus Gold PLC on Friday said its pretax loss narrowed in 2014 in line with lower administrative expenses as it continues to await the outcome of arbitration proceedings brought against the Republic of Uzbekistan over the loss of assets in the country.
Oxus said its pretax loss for the year was USD3 million, compared to a USD4.6 million loss a year earlier, as administrative expenses fell to USD2 million from USD3.3 million. The company produced no revenue in the year.
Oxus said the majority of its time in 2014 was taken up by arbitration proceedings and seeking compensation related to the loss of the Amantaytau Goldfields and Khandiza mining assets. The group is pursuing arbitration proceedings against the Republic of Uzbekistan, where the two fields are located, and is now awaiting the decision of the Paris court hearing the case.
The company went into international arbitration proceedings in August 2013, seeking damages of about USD400 million, after Uzbekistan government-backed companies initiated an audit of Oxus's Amantaytau Goldfields joint venture. Oxus alleges the audit was set up to find reasons to justify the liquidation of Amantaytau.
Oxus remains confident it will receive fair compensation from Uzbekistan once the arbitration proceedings are concluded.
Oxus also said Said Ashurov, a former metallurgist at the company who was jailed in Uzbekistan in 2011, remains behind bars. The company reiterated it considers his conviction, for seeking to remove allegedly classified information from the country, was "unjust and improper".
Shares in Oxus were up 1.4% to 3.24 pence on Friday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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