LONDON (Alliance News) - Oil and gas exploration firm Regal Petroleum PLC on Tuesday reported a sharp rise in profit on a one-off gain, while revenue and production also improved.
Shares in Regal were up 6.8% at 47.00 pence on Tuesday.
Revenue for 2018 rose 88% to USD66.1 million from USD35.1 million a year ago, with pretax profit jumping ten-fold to USD66.8 million from just USD6.6 million the year before.
The result was boosted by a one-off benefit of USD36.1 million relating to the reversal of an impairment. This was as a result of a reassessment of the remaining reserves and resources at the MEX-GOL and SV fields.
Gross profit, which does not include the impairment reversal, still rose strongly to USD34.2 million from just USD10.8 million the year before.
Aggregate average daily production from the MEX-GOL, SV and VAS fields - all located in Ukraine - in 218 was 3,391 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 52% from 2,235 in 2017.
"Whilst there are still challenges in the business environment in Ukraine, the situation is improving gradually," commented Chair Chris Hopkinson.
"After the operational successes of 2018 and the increased production output during the year, we are looking forward to achieving further successes in the development activities planned for 2019 and delivering a steadily increasing production and revenue stream in the future," Hopkinson said.
