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LONDON (Alliance News) - The Parkmead Group PLC Friday said it swung to a pretax loss in the first half of its financial year after costs increased and it booked a significant impairment charge, but said it has a strong cash balance and is still actively seeking more acquisition opportunities.
For the six months ended December 31, the oil and gas group focused on the UK and the Netherlands swung to a pretax loss of GBP17.0 million from a GBP3.1 million profit in the first half of the previous financial year after it booked a significant impairment charge.
It recorded the GBP12.9 million impairment charge on the Athena field in the UK North Sea to reflect the impact of the fall in oil prices since the middle of 2014.
Parkmead also had recorded a GBP5 million gain in the first-half of the previous financial year in relation to the acquisition of the Lochard Energy Group PLC n 2013, and this was not repeated in the recent period. This was partially offset by a GBP2.2 million credit in respect of a non-cash revaluation of share appreciation rights in this first-half.
Revenue in the first half rose to GBP10.1 million from GBP9.9 million, but its cost of sales also rose to GBP16.8 million from GBP8.7 million.
At the end of December, Parkmead reported a cash balance of GBP39.4 million, and said it continues to look for further acquisition opportunities.
"The company is in a strong position, both operationally and in terms of our balance sheet, at a challenging time in the global oil and gas industry. The board of directors has positioned Parkmead to take advantage of the lower oil price environment and view this as a good opportunity to continue the group's strong growth trajectory," said Executive Chairman Tom Cross.
Parkmead shares were up 2.2% to 115.50 pence per share on Friday morning.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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