(Alliance News) - Shares in oil & gas exploration firm BowLeven PLC plummeted Friday after it made a huge impairment to the value of its Cameroon offshore project.
Shares in Bowleven were 31% lower at 5.99 pence in London on Friday.
For the year ended June, pretax loss deepened to USDP66.6 million from USD7.0 million the year prior. This was after it booked a USD62.0 million impairment of its share in the offshore Etinde project in Cameroon, reducing its value to a range with a mid-point of USD150 million.
Bowleven did not generate revenue in either year.
"Our focus in 2020 will be to work with all of our stakeholders to ensure [a pre-financial investment decision] is underpinned by a compelling development plan, which is suitably robust to secure future capex funding during the financial year," Chief Executive Officer Eli Chahin said.
Bowleven expects to deliver a FID for Etinde in financial 2020. The firm warned, however, it was aware that the licence for Etinde, operated by partner NewAge, could potential expire in January 2021.
"This combined with a disciplined approach to capital, management will ensure that we are able to deliver maximum value for our shareholders", Chahin added.
By Ahren Lester; ahrenlester@alliancenews.com
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Bowleven (BLVN)