LONDON (Alliance News) - Polo Resources Ltd on Wednesday said its net asset value fell during the first half of the current financial year, but said NAV has risen slightly since then, adding that the company is in a position to invest in new opportunities whilst maintaining its stakes in existing investments.
The investment company, which has a focus on natural resources, said its NAV stood at USD73.5 million on March 16, compared to USD73.0 million at the end of 2015, meaning its net asset value per share rose to 17.23 pence from 16.31p.
Although its NAV has risen since, that USD73.0 million at the end of the half-year in December was considerably lower than the USD137.4 million reported at the end of calendar 2014 and from the USD77.0 million at the end of June 2015.
The pretax loss in the six months to the end of 2015 was wider year-on-year at USD3.5 million from USD2.1 million thanks to a USD2.0 million impairment that was not present the year before and because administrative and exploration expenses were higher, partly offset by a rise in investment income.
"With improving investment sentiment and prices emerging across the natural resources sector, the board of Polo is looking forward to an exciting 2016 where we anticipate through our producer sector portfolio investments, Blackham, Hibiscus and Weatherly a year of positive news as commodity prices show signs of recovery," said Executive Chairman Michael Tang.
"Polo is entering 2016 with the financial capacity to both invest and also maintain our equity positions within our current portfolio," he added.
Polo holds investments in a wide range of companies, including a 27.8% stake in London-listed coal company GCM Resources PLC and a 5.2% stake in copper company Weatherly International PLC.
Polo's other investments are in gold companies Blackham Resources Ltd and Nimini Holdings Ltd, oil and gas firms Signet Petroleum Ltd, Regalis Petroleum Ltd, Equus Petroleum Ltd and Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, phosphate company Celamin Holdings NL and Ironstone Resources Ltd, which is focused on iron.
Polo shares were up 9.7% to 3.33 pence per share on Wednesday.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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GCM Resources (GCM)
Weatherly International Plc (WTI)