Altona Energy Regulatory News (ANR)

31 Mar 2006 07:01

Altona Resources PLC31 March 2006 ALTONA RESOURCES PLC Interim Report 31st December 2005 Altona Resources plc Interim Report for the period from Incorporation on 2nd February 2005 to 31stDecember 2005 Chairman's Statement Altona Resources plc ("Altona" or "the Company") has made significant positiveprogress towards the development of the Company's Arckaringa Coal Project ("Arckaringa") in South Australia ("SA"), since the completion of the acquisitionin November 2005. Arckaringa consists of three massive coal deposits with a combined resource ofover 7 billion tonnes of coal and is recognised as one of the world's largestundeveloped energy banks. The recent opening of the SA-NT railway and theincreasing demand for energy has added significantly to Arckaringa's strategicimportance. Altona is pursuing an aggressive programme to exploit these opportunitiesutilising leading edge technology in the fields of on-site power generation andon-site conversion of coal to oil products using gasification. Gasification isused to generate electricity and, or petrochemical products. When linked withmodern combined cycle turbines, gasification is one of the most efficient,environmentally effective means of producing electricity from coal. As announced in February 2006, the Company commissioned Jacobs Consultancy, oneof the world's leading providers of professional technical services, to carryout a feasibility study to identify the gasification technology most suited toArckaringa coal. The results of the first stage of the Jacobs study are expectedshortly. The acquisition of Arckaringa included a significant database of technicaldocuments and feasibility studies. MineConsult, a leading coal miningconsultancy, has been commissioned to advise on optimising mine output as feedto the on-site facilities being planned. Altona continues to benefit from the experience of technical director NormanKennedy who has been involved with Arckaringa for more than two decades. Theteam is being reinforced by the appointment of a number of highly experiencedindustry consultants. The recent appointment of Mr Stephen Lay as the Company's Chief ExecutiveOfficer, brings to Altona experience in managing the development of largeresource projects from evaluation through the feasibility stages to production.Mr Lay, a mining engineer with 30 years international mining industryexperience, will drive and coordinate the Arckaringa commercialisation strategy. The engagement in March 2006 of the Royal Bank of Scotland ("RBS"), one of theleading banks in the global mining and project finance sector, to arrange debtfinance for the development of Arckaringa and for other strategic corporatepurposes, is an important milestone in the history of the Company andArckaringa. The Board is pleased to report that the management of the Company has beenundertaken very cost effectively, as reflected in Altona's small operating lossfor the period ended 31st December 2005 of only £81,000. The Board looks forward to reporting on further positive progress on Arkcaringain due course. Christopher LambertChairman 30 March 2006 Independent Review Report to Altona Resources plc Introduction We have been instructed by the Company to review the financial informationcomprising the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, and associated notesand we have read the other information contained in the interim report andconsidered whether it contains any apparent misstatements or materialinconsistencies with the financial information. This report, including the conclusion, has been prepared for and only for theCompany for the purpose of their interim report and for no other purpose. We donot, therefore, in producing this report, accept or assume responsibility forany other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or intowhose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent inwriting. Directors' responsibilities The interim report, including the financial information contained therein, isthe responsibility of, and has been approved by the Directors. Review work performed We conducted our review in accordance with guidance contained in Bulletin 1999/4issued by the Auditing Practices Board as if that Bulletin applied. A reviewconsists principally of making enquiries of the Directors and applyinganalytical procedures to the financial information and underlying financial dataand based thereon, assessing whether the accounting policies and presentationhave been consistently applied unless otherwise disclosed. A review excludesaudit procedures such as tests of controls and verification of assets,liabilities and transactions. It is substantially less in scope than an auditperformed in accordance with Auditing Standards and therefore provides a lowerlevel of assurance than an audit. Accordingly we do not express an auditopinion on the financial information. Review conclusion On the basis of our review we are not aware of any material modifications thatshould be made to the financial information as presented for the period ended31st December 2005. CHAPMAN DAVIS LLPChartered Accountants2 Chapel CourtLondon SE1 1HH Consolidated Income Statement (Unaudited)For the period from Incorporation on 2nd February 2005 to 31st December 2005 Notes £'000 Administrative expenses (104) Operating Loss 103) Interest Received 23 LOSS ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES BEFORE TAX (81) Taxation 2 - LOSS ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES AFTER TAX (81) Loss per share : 4 Basic (0.043) pence Diluted (0.043) pence Consolidated Balance Sheet (Unaudited)At 31st December 2005 Notes £'000FIXED ASSETSIntangible asset 5 2,121Plant and equipment 1 TOTAL FIXED ASSETS 2,122 CURRENT ASSETSCash at bank 888Receivables 12 TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 900 CREDITORS: Amounts falling due within one year (41) ______ NET CURRENT ASSETS 859 ______ NET ASSETS 2,981 CAPITAL AND RESERVESCalled up share capital 230Share premium 831Merger reserve 6 2,001Profit and loss account (81) ______SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS 7 2,981 Consolidated Cash Flow Statement (Unaudited)For the period from Incorporation on 2nd February 2005 to 31st December 2005 £'000 CASH OUTFLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES (86) Capital expenditure and financial investment (48) ______CASH OUTFLOW BEFORE FINANCING (134) Net proceeds of financing 1,022 ______INCREASE IN CASH 888 Notes to the Interim ReportFor the period ending 31st December 2005 1. PRESENTATION OF INTERIM RESULTS This interim report was approved by the Directors on 30 March 2006. The interimresults have not been audited, but were the subject of an independent reviewcarried out by the Company's auditors, Chapman Davis LLP. Their reviewconfirmed that the figures were prepared using applicable accounting policiesand practices consistent with those to be adopted in the annual report. Thefinancial information contained in this interim report does not constitutestatutory accounts as defined by Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. Allshareholders can obtain a copy of this interim report from the Company'sregistered office at 55 Gower Street, London WC1E 6HQ. It is noted that theCompany lodged its first interim report for the period ended 31st August 2005,being the six month period from the end of the financial period for whichfinancial information was disclosed in its admission document, as required underAIM Rule 18. 2. TAXATION No taxation has been provided due to losses in the period. 3. DIVIDENDS The Directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend. 4. LOSS PER SHARE The basic loss per share is derived by dividing the loss for the periodattributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of sharesin issue. £'000 Loss for the period (81) Weighted average number of shares 190.8 million Loss per share - basic (0.043) pence Weighted average number of shares inclusive of outstanding dilutive options 193.4 million Diluted Loss for the period (0.043)pence 5. INTANGIBLE ASSET The Intangible Asset is in respect of the Arckaringa Coal Project in SouthAustralia, held by the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Arckaringa Energy PtyLimited. £'000 Fair Value uplift 2,031 Associated costs of acquisition 69 Deferred evaluation expenditure 21 _______ Intangible Asset 2,121 6. MERGER RESERVE The Merger Reserve is in respect of the acquisition of Arckaringa Energy PtyLimited for the consideration of the issue of 30 million ordinary shares at adeemed value of 6.77 pence per share. £'000 Issue of 30,000,000 shares at 6.77 pence per share 2,031 Less: Called up share capital at 0.1 pence per share 30 ______ Merger Reserve 2,001 DIRECTORS REGISTERD OFFICE NOMINATED ADVISOR AND BROKER Christopher Walter Lambert Third Floor Nabarro Wells & Co Limited 55 Gower Street Saddlers HouseJeremy Samuel Edelman LONDON WC1E 6HQ Gutter Lane CheapsideAnthony John Samaha LONDON EC2V 6HS AUDITORSNorman Lee Kennedy REGISTRARS Chapman Davis LLP 2 Chapel Court Share Registrars Limited LONDON SE1 1HH Craven House West StreetCOMPANY SECRETARY Farnham SOLICITORS SURREY GU9 7ENStephen Frank Ronaldson Ronaldsons 55 Gower Street LONDON WC1E 6HQ This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange