Preliminary Results

30th Sep 2008 07:00



For Immediate Release

30 September 2008

Triple Plate Junction PLC

("TPJ" or the "Company")

Preliminary Results for the Year ended 31 March 2008

Triple Plate Junction PLC (AIM : TPJ), the gold, copper-gold and mineral exploration and processing company is pleased to announce preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2008. Summary of key points:

Africa

Mechanisation of mines to provide consistent supply of ore to new plant

Papua New Guinea

On-going discussion with Newmont Mining Corporation regarding remaining licences in Morobe

Vietnam

Financial

Raised £2m at 5.5p via a Placing in July 2008

Cash balance of £1.2m as at 31 March 2008

Ian Gowrie-Smith, Chairman, commented:

"Triple Plate Junction PLC (TPJ) continues to attract the attention of the two top gold mining companies in the world, Barrick Gold Corporation and Newmont Mining Corporation, which are currently reviewing several of our world class leases in Papua New Guinea and Vietnam. 

"With the positive cash flow from Africa expected shortly and the financial backing of the majors, the Company should be in a position to continue to drive value into our exploration projects and we are confident that we will be in a position to announce substantive progress within the coming months."

WJS (Bill) Howell, BSc(Hons), FAusIMM,CP (Man), as the qualified Executive Director has reviewed this statement and authorised its release.

For further information please contact: 

Triple Plate Junction PLC	020 73409970
Geoff Walsh, Chief Executive / Peter Wright, Finance Director
Buchanan Communications	020 7466 5000
Tim Anderson, Isabel Podda
Arbuthnot Securities	020 7012 2000
John Prior

Chairman's Statement

Triple Plate Junction PLC (TPJ) continues to attract the attention of the two top gold mining companies in the world, Barrick Gold Corporation and Newmont Mining Corporation, which are currently reviewing several of our world class leases in Papua New Guinea and Vietnam. The outcome of these negotiations will determine the exploration strategy for TPJ in South East Asia. The quality of the work carried out in the field over many years means that we are confident that we will be in a position to announce substantive progress within the coming months. 

Capital expenditure in the year to 31st March 2008 of £2.85m funded exploration activities in Vietnam (£0.82m), Papua New Guinea (£1.9m) and construction work in Africa (£0.13m).

Our central focus during the nine months since my last Statement has been two fold. Firstly, we successfully placed 36,363,638 shares at 5.5p, raising £2 million. I wish to convey my gratitude to my fellow Directors, friends and associates for showing the faith necessary at a time when the London investment community had put down its shutters and was supporting virtually no raisings, regardless of their quality. These funds were necessary to complete the transformation of certain African leases and joint ventures into producing small scale mines.

We are confident that the installation of the Dense Medium Separation (DMS) plant which is now nearing completion, will overcome the main hurdle that has frustrated previous attempts to obtain a positive cash flow out of the Ndola smelter. During the past year we have never managed to obtain a consistent supply of suitable feedstock for the smelter in sufficient quantities to make blister copper production profitable. The DMS plant we are currently erecting is designed to produce more concentrate than we are able to consume in the smelter, allowing us to stockpile some concentrate for the wet season and sell high grade copper concentrate on the open market. We have also mechanized the mines with the purchase of an excavator and articulated dump truck. These enable us to move many times more ore than we have been able to do on an artisanal basis and should help to provide a consistent supply of ore to the DMS plant. Our Africa strategy is intended to provide cash flow to support our exploration activities to reduce our reliance on the capital markets. We look forward to reporting on our progress and production from Africa over the coming months.

The second tenet of our recent strategy has been to continue our efforts to secure partnering relationships with the majors on our licenses in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Following the successful conclusion of the farm-in agreement with Barrick Gold Corporation in October 2007, we are now in discussions with Newmont Mining Corporation in relation to our remaining licences in the highly prospective Morobe mineral belt in PNG. We are confident that projects such as our Otibanda project will benefit greatly from the technical and financial backing of the majors.

Meanwhile, our exploration activity at Pu Sam Cap in Vietnam has continued.

With the positive cash flow from Africa expected shortly and the financial backing of the majors, the Company should be in a position to continue to drive value into our exploration projects.

Ian Gowrie-Smith

Chairman

29 September 2008

  Consolidated Income Statement

For the year ended 31 March 2008

		Year to  31 Mar	Year to  31 Mar
		2008	2007
		£'000	£'000
	Notes
Revenue		280	-
Cost of sales		(241)	-
Gross profit		39	-
Administration expenses		(2,612)	(1,194)
Operating loss		(2,573)	(1,194)
Finance income		75	308
Loss before taxation		(2,498)	(886)
Taxation		-	-
Loss for the period		(2,498)	(886)
Loss per share
Basic & Diluted (pence per share)	3	(2.6)p	(0.9)p

The loss for the year is 100% attributable to equity shareholders. 

Consolidated Balance Sheet 

As at 31 March 2008

		31 Mar	31 Mar
		2008	2007
		£'000	£'000
	Notes
Assets
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment		1,698	1,865
Intangible assets	4	18,741	16,598
Total non-current assets		20,439	18,463
Current assets
Inventories		83
Trade and other receivables		543	556
Cash and cash equivalents		1,177	3,908
Total current assets		1,803	4,464
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables		(407)	(670)
Total current liabilities		(407)	(670)
Net current assets		1,396	3,794
Net assets		21,835	22,257
Equity
Issued capital		1,049	944
Share premium		18,807	16,969
Share option reserve		1,327	1,165
Translation reserve		(37)	(8)
Retained earnings		689	3,187
Total equity		21,835	22,257

The preliminary results were approved by the Board of Directors on 29 September 2008.

  

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

For the year ended 31 March 2008

	Share capital	Share premium	Share option reserve	Retained earnings	Translation reserve	Total equity
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 1 April 2006	944	16,969	814	4,073	-	22,800
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations					(8)	(8)
Net income recognised directly in equity					(8)	(8)
Loss for the period after tax				(886)		(886)
Total recognised income and expense				(886)	(8)	(894)
Equity settled share options			351			351
At 31 March 2007	944	16,969	1,165	3,187	(8)	22,257
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations					(29)	(29)
Net income recognised directly in equity					(29)	(29)
Loss for the period after tax				(2,498)		(2,498)
Total recognised income and expense				(2,498)	(29)	(2,527)
Issue of shares	105	1,838				1,943
Equity settled share options			162			162
At 31 March 2008	1,049	18,807	1,327	689	(37)	21,835

Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

For the year ended 31 March 2008

		Year to  31 Mar	Year to  31 Mar
		2008	2007
		£'000	£'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Loss before tax		(2,498)	(886)
Adjusted by:
Depreciation of non-current assets		234	144
Licence costs written off		538	-
Share based payment		162	351
Loss on disposal of assets		-	10
Finance income		(75)	(308)
Increase in inventories		(83)	-
Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables		13	(291)
(Decrease)/increase in trade and other payables		(263)	276
Net cash used in operating activities		(1,972)	(704)
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received		75	308
Payments for property plant and equipment		(185)	(1,727)
Proceeds from disposal of property plant and equipment		118	-
Payments for intangible assets		(2,681)	(3,245)
Net cash used in investing activities		(2,673)	(4,664)
Financing activities
Proceeds from issue of equity shares		1,943	-
		1,943	-
Total decrease in cash and cash equivalents		(2,702)	(5,368)
Foreign exchange movements		(29)	(8)
Cash and cash equivalents at the start of the period		3,908	9,284
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period		1,177	3,908

  Notes to the Preliminary Results

The financial information set out in this preliminary announcement does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 240 of the Companies Act 1985.

The consolidated balance sheet at 31 March 2008 and the consolidated income statement, consolidated statement of changes in equity, consolidated cash flow statement and associated notes for the year then ended have been extracted from the Group's 2008 statutory financial statements upon which the auditors opinion is unqualified and does not include any statement under Section 237 of the Companies Act 1985 but does refer to the uncertainty over the ability of the group to raise further equity to fund its operations if required as set out in the going concern note 2 below.

Those financial statements have not yet been delivered to the registrar of companies.

1. Basis of preparation

The consolidated financial statements are for the year ended 31 March 2008, have been prepared under the historical cost convention and are presented in sterling rounded to the nearest thousand (£000). They have been prepared in compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) interpretations as adopted by the European Union as at 31 March 2008.

In the current year, as required by AIM rules, the Group has adopted International Financial Reporting Standards for the first time. The opening IFRS balance sheet as at the date of transition on 1 April 2006 has been prepared with regard to IFRS 1 'First time adoption' and the most significant optional exemptions adopted are shown below:-

IAS 21 The effects of changes in foreign exchange rates

Cumulative translation differences which exist at the time of the transition can be transferred into the retained earnings and the foreign exchange reserve therefore shows only differences arising after transition (IFRS 1 'First time adoption of IFRS').

 

b. IFRS 3 Business combinations

 

Business combinations prior to the date of transition to IFRS need not be restated (IFRS 1 'First time adoption of IFRS').

Please refer to note 7 for the details of the adjustments required to present the accounts under IFRS. The accounting policies used have been consistently applied from the transition balance sheet and throughout all periods presented in the first IFRS financial statements.

2. Going concern

The group meets its day to day working capital requirements through a positive cash balance and has no borrowing facilities at present. The group has incurred losses in the year. In common with other junior mining companies, Triple Plate Junction (TPJ) is reliant on raising further funds periodically through equity finance or possibly debt facilities.

The anticipated revenue from the operations in Zambia were delayed as a result of factors mentioned in the Chairman's statement. The smelter is operational and the Board anticipate revenues commencing in October 2008 which should result in positive cash flow to the group by December 2008 from the Zambian operation, which should fund the exploration activities in Vietnam and Papua New Guinea.

The nature of the group's business is such that there can be considerable unpredictable variation in the timing of cash flows. Bearing this in mind, the directors' have prepared projected cash flow information for the period ending 30 September 2009. The projections also include revenue from the smelter from October 2008.

On the basis of the directors' projections, the directors consider that the group will continue to operate within the currently available funds including those from future fundraising. The directors consider it is appropriate to prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that would result from the inability to raise additional funding.

3. Loss per share

	Year to  31 March	Year to  31 March
	2008	2007
	£'000	£'000
Loss for the year attributable to equity shareholders	(2,498)	(886)
	Pence per share	Pence per share
Basic and diluted loss per share	(2.6)	(0.9)
	Shares	Shares
Issued ordinary shares at start of the period	94,414,795	94,414,795
Ordinary shares issued in the period	10,500,000	-
Issued ordinary shares at end of the period	104,914,795	94,414,795
Weighted average number of shares in issue for the period.	97,205,206	94,414,795

The diluted loss per share does not differ from the basic loss per share as the exercise of share options would have the effect of reducing the loss per share and is therefore not dilutive under the terms of IAS 33.

4. Intangible assets

Exploration and evaluation assets	£'000
Cost
At 1 April 2006	13,353
Additions	3,245
31 March 2007	16,598
Additions	2,681
At 31 March 2008	19,279
Impairment
At 1 April 2006 & 31 March 2007	-
Licences written off	(538)
At 31 March 2008	(538)
Net book value
At 1 April 2006	13,353
At 31 March 2007	16,598
At 31 March 2008	18,741

5. Related party transactions

During the year Rift Oil Plc, a company in which directors I Gowrie-Smith and D J Lees are directors and shareholders was charged an amount of £104,468 (2007: £44,283) for office management services. The balance outstanding at the year end was £73,489 (2007: £44,283).

 6. Events after the balance sheet date

On 31 July 2008 the company raised £2 million through the placing of 36,363,638 new ordinary shares at 5.5 pence per share. The net proceeds of the Placing will principally be used to progress the Zambian copper programme, with the objective of advancing the operation to a positive cash flow position by Q4 2008. Excess cash generated from the Zambian programme is intended to be used to facilitate the continued exploration of the Company's major licenses in PNG and Vietnam.

7. Transition to IFRS

First time adoption

From 1 April 2006 the Group has adopted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the preparation of its financial statements.

The main items contributing to the change in financial information compared with that reported under UK GAAP and the exemptions on transition taken as at the transition date are shown below:

 

a) IAS 21 'The effects of changes in foreign exchange rates'

Under UK GAAP the Group reported differences in exchange rates on consolidation within retained

earnings. Under IFRS the Group has claimed the exemption from retrospective application of IAS 21

and is now required to show all post transition differences on consolidation as a separate item within 

equity.

 

b) IFRS 2 Share based payments

Share based payments have been adopted for share options granted after 7 November 2002 and not

vested by 1 April 2006. 

 

c) IAS 27 'Consolidated and separate financial statements'

Losses applicable to the minority interest are allocated against the majority interest.

Triple Plate's annual report and accounts have been posted to shareholders and are available from the Company's website http://www.tpjunction.com/

ENDFR PUUAGBUPRGQB

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