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(Alliance News) -Â Empyrean Energy PLC reported a swing to loss on Friday after a smaller finance income gain, though said the year was "successful".
The firm posted a pretax loss of USD995,000 for the year to March 31 after a profit of USD143,000 the year before. No revenue was posted for either year.
Empyrean recorded just USD43,000 in finance income for the recent year, versus USD1.1 million the year prior. Its operating loss, which does not include finance income, narrowed to USD962,00 from USD1.0 million.
The oil and gas explorer said it was overall a "successful year" in a market that presented some "unique challenges".
"The company has, despite these challenges, positioned itself to realise the significant and potentially game changing upside potential of its Chinese assets, as well as to capitalise on the success of the exploration program in Indonesia this year. We look forward to reporting further progress on our portfolio of projects in the near term," said Chief Executive Tom Kelly.
Empyrean noted that it conducted a series of placements during the year to fund its share of an Indonesian drilling campaign and for working capital purposes. It also entered into a GBP10 million equity placement facility with Long State Investment Ltd, a Hong Kong-based energy and resource focused investment company.
The London-listed firm added that it is "continually" assessing other financing and strategic alternatives to provide additional working capital as and when required.
Empyrean shares were down 1.1% at 4.63 pence in London on Friday.
By Lucy Heming;Â lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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