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(Alliance News) - Natural resources-focused investment firm Westmount Energy PLC said Thursday its annual profit jumped as its listed Guyana-focused investees experienced strong share price performances.
For the financial year ended June, pretax profit quadrupled to GBP2.0 million from GBP561,080 the year prior. The firm did not generate any revenue during either period.
Profit performance was primarily driven by a "strong" share price performance in its investees focused on Guyana: London-listed Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd and Israel-listed Ratio Petroleum Energy LP.
"The year under review was one of material progress for your company as our early toehold investments in the Guyana offshore space continued to deliver capital gains," Chair Gerald Walsh said.
"Offshore Guyana has continued to capture global exploration headlines during this period with an additional 6 exploration successes," Walsh added. "Access to opportunities in offshore Guyana remains one of the key challenges for both the industry and investors."
Walsh added that Westmount "remains focused on accessing investment opportunities and deploying capital that gives additional exposure to the emerging Guyana Suriname basin. We have been focusing on Guyana for over three years and in spite of rising valuations and limited access, opportunities remain.
"Guyana is emerging as a hydrocarbon province with first oil production from the Liza field expected in the coming months," Walsh continued. "Our initial toehold investments have proven successful and our investments in the private single asset companies hold the potential for transformational value uplift."
Shares in Westmount were 0.9% lower at 17.35 pence in London on Thursday.
By Ahren Lester; ahrenlester@alliancenews.com
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