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LONDON (Alliance News) - Emmerson PLC on Tuesday said it looks forward to a "successful and exciting" year ahead despite reporting a widened loss in 2018.
The Khemisset potash project developer said its pretax loss widened in 2018 to GBP1.8 million from the GBP335,000 reported a year prior, due to a sharp rise in administrative expenses to GBP1.1 million from GBP265,000.
Emmerson did not generate any revenue in either year, as its key objective for the period was the rapid advancement of the Khemisset potash project in northern Morocco.
The company said the work completed to date has provided confirmation of the potential of the Khemisset project. Emmerson targets production in 2022-23, and believes that it will be entering the market at an optimum time in the potash market cycle.
"We believe that 2019 will be a transformational year for the group, as we continue to advance Khemisset towards production," said Chair Mark Connelly.
Emmerson shares were trading 9.6% higher on Tuesday at 4.93 pence each.