LONDON (Alliance News) - Quadrise Fuels International PLC on Monday said its loss narrowed in its most recent financial year by cutting expenses, but it was unable to develop its trial project in Saudi Arabia.
Quadrise, which produces a synthetic heavy fuel oil called MSAR, recorded a pretax loss of GBP3.6 million for the year to June, slimmed from a GBP4.3 million loss the year before.
The company reduced its production and development costs to GBP2.0 million from GBP2.4 million, and its other administration expenses to GBP1.5 million from GBP1.8 million. Moreover, its share option charge shrunk to GBP53,000 from GBP242,000.
Quadrise said it encountered "major challenges" in the recent financial year, as its oil-supply partner in Saudi Arabia failed to reach an agreement with the local power company.
"The fact that the MSAR 'production to combustion' trial project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia did not proceed as planned is hugely disappointing. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia remains the world's largest market for the consumption of oil for power generation, and Quadrise will continue to pursue opportunities there," said Executive Chairman Mike Kirk.
"This will, however, require a different approach to ensure that we are engaged within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the appropriate level, with parties who can see the significant benefits that would arise from adoption of MSAR and are able to direct the relevant parties to co-operate to enable delivery," Kirk added.
The company recorded a negligible revenue of GBP9,000 for the year, dropping from GBP126,000 the year before.
Post year-end, Quadrise signed a memorandum of understanding with Freepoint Commodities LLP to prioritise MSAR projects on an exclusive basis in Asia and the Americas.
"Despite the challenges during the year, we have, through our activities, reduced risk in certain key areas. We realise that the path to success may not always be smooth, but we remain well placed to deliver on the substantial opportunities that we have; both directly and through our collaborative agreements with our partners," said Kirk.
Shares in Quadrise were down 8.4% at 2.75 pence per share on Monday.
