Altona Energy Plc - Interim Results

Altona Energy Plc - Interim Results

PR Newswire

London, June 18

Embargoed until 7am
19 June 2020

Altona Energy plc
("Altona" or "the Company")

Interim Results

Altona (AQSE: ANR.PL), a mining exploration company, announces its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2019.

Christian Taylor-Wilkinson, Interim CEO of Altona, commented, "The period under review for these results was one of transition for the Company, as while the strategy remained that of finding a mining project suitable for increasing shareholder value, the evaluation of a vanadium project in China (June 2019) as well as the attempt to acquire a new Petroleum Exploration Licence in South Australia (December 2019) were both discarded by the board, as projects not suited to achieve the desired results.

"In May of 2020, outside the review period, the Company engaged with a Malawian mining consultancy, which is in the process of acquiring the mining rights over a Rare Earth Element project in southern Malawi. The board believes that this project has a high degree of merit and we are currently carrying out due diligence, which we believe will take less than three months.

"We are also speaking with owners of other mining assets, whilst assessing the potential of alternative projects, should a more suitable investment be found, or should the project in Malawi not be able to move forward for whatever reason.

"We also continue to search for realistic funding solutions for the Company, so as to provide the necessary capital for the Company to remain solvent until we find our next project, and to ensure our shareholders do not face excessive dilution. It has become a delicate balancing act, but ultimately the board is trying to ensure the Company survives in its current form and therefore, we may have to face tough choices in the next few months in order to raise the right amount of funds at the right price which will enable us to finally move ahead and put the last few years behind us.

"The shares in the Company remain suspended and may do so until new funds have been raised. This, we hope, will be in conjunction with the Company finalising a deal to acquire a new mining asset. The timeline for any fund raise and completion of an acquisition, if one is to happen, we envisage, will be within the next four months.

"We will continue to update the market as and when we have developments to report and we once more thank our shareholders for their ongoing support."

Financial Review

The financial loss of the Group for the six months ended 31 December 2019 was £78,000 (H1 2018: £366,000), due to the strict cost cutting exercise implemented by the new board.

The Company had total liabilities of £377,000 at 31 December 2019 (H1 2019: £310,000), being made up of a bank overdraft facility of £100,000 and £162,000 of accrued expenses, the majority of which relate to deferred salaries of Mr Zhang, Mr Taylor-Wilkinson and Mr Sutherland; these amounts will be settled either, once the Company has suffient cash reserves, or converted into Altona shares. Any payment of these accrued salaries will not be made to the detriment of the business's planned future operations.

-ends-

For further information, please visit www.altonaenergy.com or contact:

Altona Energy plc Christian Taylor-Wilkinson, Interim CEO Philip Sutherland, Non-Executive Director	[phone] [phone]
Alfred Henry Corporate Finance Ltd (AQSE Corporate Adviser) Jon Isaacs / Nick Michaels	[phone]
Leander (Financial PR)	[phone]

Company Information

Altona is a mining exploration company focused on the evaluation, development and extraction of minerals.

The Company was admitted to trading on AIM on 10 March 2005 and was subsequently admitted to Aquis Stock Exchange (Formerly NEX Exchange for Growth Companies) on 1 February 2019. A copy of its admission documents dated 4 March 2005 can be accessed on its website, www.altonaenergy.com. This website is where items can be inspected under Rule 75 of the Aquis Stock Exchange Rules for Issuers, from 1 February 2019.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE HALF YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2019

	Notes	Unaudited Half-year ended 31 Dec 2019	Unaudited Half-year ended 31 Dec 2018	Audited Year ended 30 June 2019
		£'000	£'000	£'000
Total administrative expenses and loss from operations		(78)	(366)	(624)
Impairment expense		-	-	(11,033)
Loss before taxation		(78)	(366)	(11,657)
Tax	2	-	-	-
Loss for the financial period		(78)	(366)	(11,657)
Other comprehensive income
Exchange differences on translating foreign operations maybe subsequently reclassified to profit or loss		-	(148)	(187)
Total comprehensive profit/(loss) attributable to the equity holders of the parent		(78)	(514)	(11,844)
Loss per share
- Basic and diluted	3	(4.87p)	(23.51p)	(894.84p)

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION
AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2019

		Unaudited 31 Dec 2019 £'000	Unaudited 31 Dec 2018 £'000	Audited 30 June 2019 £'000
ASSETS
Non-current assets
Intangible assets		-	11,074	-
Other receivables		3	3	3
Total Non-current assets		-	11,077	3
Current assets
Trade and other receivables		21	77	32
Cash and cash equivalents		-	19	-
Total Current assets		21	96	32
Total assets		24	11,173	35
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables	4	377	127	310
Total Current liabilities		377	127	310
Total liabilities		377	127	310
NET ASSETS		(353)	11,046	(275)
Capital and reserve attributable to the equity holders of the Parent
Share capital		1.431	1,427	1.431
Share premium		18,697	18,692	18,697
Merger reserve		2,001	2,001	2,001
Foreign exchange reserve		1,224	1,263	1,224
Retained losses		(23,706)	(12,337)	(23,628)
TOTAL EQUITY		(353)	11,046	(275)

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASHFLOWS
FOR THE HALF YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2019

	Unaudited Half-year ended 31 Dec2019	Unaudited Half-year ended 31 Dec 2018	Audited Year ended 30 June 2019
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Operating activities
Loss before taxation	(78)	(366)	(11,657)
Share based payments	-	-	9
Impairment of intangibles	-	-	11,033
(Increase)/ decrease in receivables	11	(39)	6
Increase / (decrease) in payables and provisions	67	36	123
Cash used in operations	-	(369)	(486)
Income tax benefit received	-	-	-
Net cash outflow used in operating activities	-	(369)	(486)
Investing activities
Interest received	-	-	-
Net cash outflow from investing activities	-	-	-
Financing activities
Proceeds from bank overdraft	-	-	96
Proceeds from issue of shares	-	-	-
Costs of issue			-
Net cash inflow from financing activities	-	-	96
Increase/decrease in cash and cash equivalents in period/ year	-	(369)	(390)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period / year	-	391	391
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents	-	(3)	(1)
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period / year	-	19	-

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
FOR THE HALF YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2019

	Share capital	Share premium	Merger reserve	Foreign exchange reserve	Retained losses	Total shareholders' equity
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Balance at 30 June 2018	1,427	18,692	2,001	1,411	(11,971)	11,560
Total comprehensive loss for the period	-	-	-	(148)	(366)	(514)
Issue of share capital	-	-	-	-	-	-
Balance at 31 December 2018	1,427	18,692	2,001	1,263	(12,337)	11,046
Total comprehensive loss for the period	-	-	-	(39)	(11,291)	(11,330)
Issue of share capital	4	5	-	-	-	9
Balance at 30 June 2019	1,431	18,697	2,001	1,224	(23,628)	(275)
Total comprehensive loss for the period	-	-	-	-	(78)	(78)
Issue of share capital	-	-	-	-	-	-
Balance at 31 December 2019	1,431	18,697	2,001	1,224	(23,706)	(353)

NOTES TO THE INTERIM REPORT

FOR THE HALF YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2018

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

Altona Energy Plc (the "Company") is a company registered in England and Wales. The condensed consolidated interim financial statements of the Company for the six months ended 31 December 2019 comprise the result of the Company and its subsidiaries (together referred to as the "Group") and have been prepared in accordance with the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market Rules for Issuers. As permitted, the Company has chosen not to adopt IAS 34 "Interim Financial Statement" in preparing these interim financial statements.

The consolidated interim financial information for the period 1 July 2019 to 31 December 2019 is unaudited. In the opinion of the Directors the condensed interim financial information for the period presents fairly the financial position, and results from operations and cash flows for the period in conformity with the generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied. The condensed interim financial information incorporates unaudited comparative figures for the interim period 1 July 2018 to 31 December 2018 and extracts from the audited financial statements for the year to 30 June 2019.

The financial information contained in this interim report does not constitute statutory accounts as defined by section 435 of the Companies Act 2006.

The comparatives for the full year ended 30 June 2019 are not the Company's full statutory accounts for that year. A copy of the statutory accounts for that year has been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditor's report on those financial statements was unqualified but did include a reference to the uncertainties surrounding going concern, to which the auditors drew attention by way of emphasis of matter and did not contain a statement under s498 (2) - (3) of Companies Act 2006. The interim report has not been audited or reviewed by the Company's auditor. The key risks and uncertainties and critical accountancy estimates remain unchanged from 30 June 2019 and the accountancy policies adopted are consistent with those used in the preparation of its financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2019.

2. TAXATION

The Group has recognised a £nil tax credit (31 December 2018: £nil and 30 June 2019: £nil) in respect of the concession for research and development tax credits available to the Group. No current taxation has been provided due to losses in the period.

3. LOSS PER SHARE

The basic loss per share is derived by dividing the loss for the period attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of shares in issue.

	Unaudited 31 Dec 2019	Unaudited 31 Dec 2018	Audited 30 June 2019
Loss for the period (£'000)	(78)	(366)	(11,657)
Weighted average number of shares - expressed in thousands	1,602	1,559	1,602
Basic loss per share - expressed in pence	(4.87p)	(23.51p)	(894.84)

As the inclusion of the potential ordinary shares would result in a decrease in the loss per share they are considered to be anti-dilutive and, as such, the diluted loss per share calculation is the same as the basic loss per share.

4. TRADE AND OTHER PAYABLES

	Unaudited 31 Dec 2019 £'000	Unaudited 31 Dec 2018 £'000	Audited 30 June 2019 £'000
Trade payables	115	60	132
Bank overdraft	100	-	96
Accruals and other payables	162	67	82
	377	127	310

5. POST REPORTING DATE EVENTS

The following events occurred subsequent to period end:

• The company launched an Open Offer to existing shareholders with an aim to raise up to £400,000 to pursue the acquisition of a Petroleum Exploraiton Licence Application in South Australia, however took the decision to cancel the open offer due to it not raising the minimum amount required to acquire the PELA. Therefore, those shareholders who subscribed for shares in the offer, were refunded the full amount of their subscription monies in relation to the Open Offer.

• The Company entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU") with mining consultancy company, Akatswiri Mineral Resources ("Akatswiri"), to acquire a majority stake in a rare earth mining project in the Chambe Basin, Mulanje in Southern Malawi.

  Akatswiri is currently the 100% owner of Akatswiri Rare Earths Pvt Ltd ("ARE"), a Malawi registered company, which has applied for Exploration licence APL 0153 - the Chambe Rare Earth Project ("Chambe"). It is expected that the licence will be granted in June, following government final approval.

  The terms of the MoU state Altona will initially acquire a 51% holding in ARE, rising to 75% on certain project milestones being met. Akatswiri will remain a 25% shareholder. The consideration for the transaction will be Altona Energy ordinary shares if the transaction proceeds.