27th Mar 2014 14:32
LONDON (Alliance News) - Westmount Energy Ltd Thursday said it swung to a profit in the first-half of the year, from a loss the previous year, although the company said it has had a difficult trading year.
Westmount Energy is a Jersey-based investment holding company which provides seed capital to small companies, which are identified as having growth possibilities.
It said that the past year has been difficult for the company, as the junior oil and gas sector remained out of favour, with valuations and share prices continuing to fall, which it said hit the valuation of its portfolio of exploration shares.
"There are some signs that the cycle could be bottoming out. The oil price remains strong, the industry has plenty of cash, major stock markets have been strong and there have been a number of IPOs in the oil & gas sector in recent months," the investment company said.
The AIM-quoted investment vehicle said that it spent a large part of the year with a specific proposal, outside the resource sector, which was believed could have delivered significant value to shareholders, however it said the proposal did not come to fruition.
For the six months to December 31, 2013, the company reported a pretax profit of GBP18.4 million, compared with a GBP379.4 million loss the prior year.
The company also said that Gerald Walsh has been appointed Chairman of the board. It said that Walsh takes on the role from Mervyn Bradlow, who will remain a Director of the company.
Shares in Westmount Energy last traded at 18.05 pence per share, down 9.8%.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; [email protected]; @rharrisdoughty
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