Lansdowne dives on results

Volatile tiddler Lansdowne Oil and Gas was on the move again Monday as the market reacted negatively to the Irish oil explorer's full year results.The post-tax loss for 2010 was £1.1m, a marginal improvement on the previous year's loss of £1.2m. Gross operating expenses were unchanged at £1m, while net finance cost for the year narrowed to £0.14m from £0.17m in 2009.The end of year cash balance held steady at £26,000. Since the end of the year the outfit has raised £5m through a placing of shares in March, while its two largest shareholders converted £1.9m of loans into equity, raising the cash balance in March to £4.7m, and reducing loans outstanding to £0.25m.These new funds will be used primarily to acquire 3D seismic data over its discoveries and prospects in the Celtic Sea.The company also plans in 2011 to acquire 3D seismic data over the Amergin, Rosscarbery and Midleton prospects, covering an aggregate area of approximately 300 square kilometres. The group will use the data to refine potential drilling locations and to mount a farm-out campaign with a view to attracting industry partners to drill wells on each of Midleton, Rosscarbery and Amergin in 2012, as required under the work programmes. "It should be mentioned that the acquired data is expected to substantially reduce the risk normally associated with the drilling of exploration wells," the group's chairman, John Greenall, said.---jh