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(Alliance News) - MetalNRG PLC on Monday said its pretax loss increased last year alongside "time consuming" legal issues which it said were "a drain on [our] finances," but also reported operational successes during the same period.
The London-headquartered investor in natural resources and energy said its pretax loss for 2022 was GBP2.2 million, widened from GBP1.9 million the previous year. Its operating loss, however, narrowed to GBP1.7 million from GBP1.8 million, while its loss per share narrowed to 0.19 pence from 0.22p.
Shares in MetalNRG are currently suspended from trading in London. They last traded at 0.08p on May 2.
Administrative expenses meanwhile decreased 11% to GBP1.7 million from GBP1.9 million, and finance costs increased to GBP139,029 from GBP14,774. MetalNRG also incurred a one-off impairment on investments of GBP440,582.
MetalNRG did not declare any dividends, unchanged from 2021, but said it was "working towards establishing a suitable dividend policy that can be considered in the future."
MetalNRG faced various legal disputes during 2022 with former Director Pierpaolo Rocco, who took legal action concerning his employment after leaving in October, 2021. The company's claim for the return of GBP1.0 million it paid and for damages from Rocco for breach of director's duties. Rocco also has taken MetalNRG to the Employment Tribunal in Scotland, and the company assured shareholders it "has taken the best route" despite the "lengthy" process.
MetalNRG said its total legal costs incurred at April 30 were GBP1.6 million, of which GBP448,893 has been settled.
MetalNRG also said it progressed with additional exploration work and geo sampling on its GoldRidge project in Arizona, allowing it to find new gold anomalies and confirm the "real possibility of a larger un-discovered gold/base metal system." Once the geo sampling programme is complete, the company will define a drilling programme to be completed when funds from its legal processes become available.
Going forward, the company said it maintained a positive outlook for commodity prices, which "have seen a marked improvement" in recent months. It also said its partnership with Eqtec PLC, on its Eqtec Italia MDC waste-to-energy project, should start generating revenues shortly.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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