Final Results
Independent Resources PLC
17 November 2006
Independent Resources plc
Final Results for the period to 30th September 2006
Highlights
• Solid continuing progress on key Rivara gas storage project
• Successful start to coal bed methane data acquisition at Fiume Bruna
• Integration of significant new quantities of data on highly prospective
Ksar Hadada license
• Strong cash management
Chairman's statement
I am pleased to present Independent Resources' first annual report since our
incorporation in June 2005 and our successful admission to AIM last December.
During that time, we have made important and encouraging progress towards our
vision of becoming a significant and profitable international energy company.
Our business model is centred on large-scale storage of natural gas, with added
value derived from both commercial activities and upstream oil and gas
operations.
The company raised just over £5 million (pre-expenses) on admission to AIM,
following a pre-IPO placement of £2 million in August 2005. Our working capital
position as of 30 September 2006 was £4.6 million. We are committed to managing
our expenditures very prudently as we continue to evaluate and develop our
portfolio of assets to the point of commercial exploitation.
As this is our first annual report to shareholders, I believe it is appropriate
to provide a little background about Independent Resources' distinctive business
strategy and the context in which we are applying that model.
Our geographical focus is on Italy, which has been historically and is
increasingly committed to natural gas as its primary fuel for power generation
as well as industrial use and domestic heating. The country does not have any
nuclear generating capacity.
Italy is the third-largest gas market in Europe after the UK and Germany, and
the fastest growing in absolute terms. While it was once able to satisfy its
demand for gas from domestic production, depletion and rapid demand growth has
meant that the country now imports more than 80% of its natural gas from
far-away sources such as Russia and Algeria.
Security of supply is understandably a key concern in Italy today. It was one of
the first European countries to begin liberalising its gas market in response to
EU Directives designed to promote greater competition and new investment in the
energy sector.
Italy's physical location as a land-bridge between North Africa and Continental
Europe means that it can ultimately participate in and benefit from a huge and
transparent energy trading space from Cap Bon in Tunisia to the Interconnector
at Zeebrugge in Belgium, to the Hub at Baumgarten in Austria, and to the major
entry points into Germany from Russia.
It was in this context that the founding directors of Independent Resources
decided to create a new energy trading company, backed by the physical assets
and access to the commodity that would maximise its profitability.
The core asset underpinning our strategy, and the one that has been the focus of
much of our management activity since incorporation, is the Rivara underground
gas storage facility near Bologna.
Italy has an urgent need not only for more gas storage, but better storage. The
unique geological characteristics of Rivara will permit more economical storage,
and more rapid injection and withdrawal of large volumes of gas than the
country's existing facilities, which are located in depleted sandstone gas
reservoirs.
Evidence of this rapidly growing need arose last winter, when Italy experienced
its first full-blown gas supply crisis, primarily due to a lack of adequate gas
storage capacity and deliverability.
The commercial value of Rivara within that context also became increasingly
apparent during the reporting period, with approaches being made to Independent
Resources by several of Europe's leading gas players expressing potential
interest in participating in the project. The Board will continue to evaluate
all such approaches to determine whether it is in our shareholders' best
interests to pursue them further at this very early stage in the development of
what we believe will be an extremely valuable and long-term infrastructure
investment.
The Rivara project is designed to take advantage of both the macroeconomic
aspects described above and the valuable microeconomic opportunities that will
accrue to the operator of a large, high-performance gas storage facility within
a dynamic market.
With a project capacity of 3.2 billion cubic metres, Rivara would add more than
20 per cent to Italy's current gas storage capacity. At the same time, its
physical operation will be integrated into a trading platform that will enable
optimal management of large volumes of gas from Italy's and Europe's two
principal long-term suppliers -- Gazprom in Russia and Sonatrach in Algeria - as
well as from other major energy players seeking a strong commercial involvement
in such a strategic location.
Several important and very positive milestones were reached during the period in
advancing both planning and technical aspects of the Rivara project, and these
are summarised in the review of operations.
The third element of our integrated strategy, in addition to large-scale gas
storage and trading activities, is to extend our value chain into the upstream
sector.
At the time of writing, the company is acquiring data from an initial
stratigraphic borehole on our wholly-owned Fiume Bruna coal bed methane (CBM)
permit in central Italy. The results of this test drilling will greatly assist
in formulating and executing the next phase of appraisal for this low-cost but
substantial resource, which we expect to start exploiting by the end of 2008.
Looking beyond initial commissioning of Fiume Bruna, we believe that the field's
productivity and economics can be further enhanced by the injection of carbon
dioxide (CO2) into the coal bed. Independent Resources has world-class expertise
in CO2 injection and sequestration, and recently became a full member of the
Carbon Capture and Storage Association - a UK-based organisation whose mission
is to promote geological storage of CO2 as a means both of reducing atmospheric
emissions of this greenhouse gas and of enhancing the recovery of hydrocarbons.
In early 2006, the Tunisian government formally approved Independent Resources'
proposal to farm in to a 40 per cent interest in the promising Ksar Hadada
concession onshore Tunisia. Our original intention, with operator Petroceltic,
was to re-enter and test an existing well on the large Sidi Toui structure in
the second half of 2006. However, after receiving valuable additional seismic
data from the state oil company ETAP, we decided to postpone the re-entry until
2007 in order to interpret and integrate this additional data with our existing
data.
More information about our activities relating to both Fiume Bruna and Ksar
Hadada is included in the review of operations.
We are encouraged by the advances we have made to date in implementing our
uniquely integrated strategy, and are confident that it will yield outstanding
benefits to our shareholders in the coming years.
I would like to express my appreciation to my fellow directors for their shared
commitment and individual contributions to our objectives; to our small but
growing team of dedicated employees in Italy; and to all our shareholders. Your
continued support in the creation and growth of Independent Resources plc is
greatly valued, and we look forward to keeping you informed of our progress.
Grayson Nash
Executive Chairman
17 November 2006
Review of operations
In its first full year since incorporation, Independent Resources plc made
considerable progress in derisking each of the major assets in its portfolio,
and advancing their development in order to create a highly focused, distinctive
and profitable energy enterprise.
Rivara, Italy
The company's key asset, the proposed Rivara underground gas storage (UGS)
facility near Bologna in Italy, is a massive fractured limestone formation that
provides the capability to inject and withdraw natural gas rapidly to match
seasonal demand patterns and take advantage of the associated trading
opportunities.
The size and unusual characteristics of this geological formation mean that it
has the potential to become one of Italy's largest and most valuable natural gas
storage facilities, at a time when the country is facing a growing shortfall in
gas deliverability.
Rivara's geographical location, too, is strategically important, lying close to
Italy's balancing point on the natural gas 'highway' that supplies Europe from
North Africa.
After more than a year of detailed preparation and consultation with the local,
regional and national authorities, Independent Resources submitted its full
planning application and accompanying environmental impact assessment (EIA) for
the Rivara development in September.
We are continuing to work in close cooperation with all the relevant
authorities, who recognise the country's pressing need for additional gas
storage capacity. Our expectation is that all the required planning consents to
begin development of the Rivara UGS will be secured within the first half of
2007. Our plans remain on schedule to bring Rivara onstream in 2010.
Also as part of this cooperative approach, Independent Resources signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in May 2006 with Bologna-based Hera SpA, the
principal multi-utility within the Emilia Romagna region. As geographic
neighbours with overlapping business objectives and a common regulatory regime,
both parties recognise that there are potential benefits to be gained through
cooperation. While no binding obligations are entailed in the MoU, we are
confident that this arrangement will generate mutually advantageous business
opportunities for both companies in the coming years.
To further enhance the Rivara project's long-term profitability, the company has
devised a process that will enable it to generate electricity from the stored
natural gas -- without burning the gas. This highly efficient and
environmentally friendly technology will use the flow pressure from gas
withdrawals to drive turbines that will generate electricity for use onsite and
for export to the Italian grid.
Finally on Rivara, additional technical studies completed during the year have
added significantly to our understanding of the reservoir's geological
characteristics, enabling the company to identify the optimal location for the
surface facilities. Acquisition of the 6.6 hectare site has been formally agreed
with the landowner.
Fiume Bruna, Italy
During September, Independent Resources began drilling its first stratigraphic
borehole on its 100 per cent-held Fiume Bruna coal bed methane (CBM) concession
in Tuscany. CBM is becoming an increasingly significant and valuable energy
source elsewhere in Europe and in the US. We believe this is the first well in
Italy drilled specifically to evaluate a CBM formation, and the experience we
and our service companies have gained through the process will be invaluable for
future wells.
The purpose of this preliminary borehole is to acquire additional data on the
Fiume Bruna coal formation. We expect to have a full gas content analysis of the
recovered coal samples by January next year. This will enable us to optimise and
implement the next phase of appraisal prior to expected first production in 2008
as scheduled in our AIM admission document.
Annual production is targeted to reach up to 10 billion cubic feet in 2009, and
potentially twice that volume in subsequent years. In addition, we believe that
enhanced CBM technology using CO2 injection could increase recovery and extend
the productive life of Fiume Bruna considerably.
Ksar Hadada, Tunisia
Independent Resources' third major asset is its 40 per cent interest in the
highly prospective Ksar Hadada concession onshore Tunisia. The Tunisian
government formally approved our farm-in to this Petroceltic-operated permit
area in February 2006.
Ksar Hadada covers an area of approximately 7000 square kilometres within the
prolific Ghadames basin, where a number of major oil and gas fields have been
discovered in neighbouring Libya and Algeria. The primary prospect within the
permit area is the large Sidi Toui structure.
The partners' original intention was to re-enter and test an earlier well on
this structure, Sidi Toui-3, in the second half of this year. In August,
however, we received from the Tunisian national oil company, ETAP, a large
amount of historic seismic and well data for the acreage.
Based on an initial and promising assessment of this data, as well as the
current scarcity and high cost of drilling rigs in the region, it was decided to
postpone the planned re-entry until we have integrated this additional data into
our existing interpretation. We believe this exercise will prove extremely
valuable not only to our understanding of the Sidi Toui structure but also of
other identified and potential prospects within the concession area.
We expect to complete this additional interpretation in the first quarter of
2007 and to secure a drilling rig for the Sidi Toui-3 re-entry in the third
quarter next year.
All work obligations for the first term of the licence have already been
fulfilled, and we continue to be excited as we learn more about the geology of
Ksar Hadada. The majority of the prospects and leads identified are quite
shallow and close to existing infrastructure, making them relatively inexpensive
to drill and develop.
Business growth
Independent Resources is continuing to seek and evaluate additional
opportunities, both in gas storage and in the upstream sector, that are
consistent with our focused strategy and offer potential for further profitable
growth.
While much still needs to be done before each of the company's current assets -
Rivara, Fiume Bruna and Ksar Hadada - begin to generate cash, we are encouraged
by the results of our operations in the past year and will be working
energetically to bring them much closer to profitability in the year ahead.
Dr Stephen Staley
Managing Director
17 November 2006
Consolidated income statement
Period ended 30 September 2006
2006
Continuing operations £
Revenue -
Cost of sales -
___________
Gross profit -
Administrative expenses (775,453)
___________
Operating loss (775,453)
Net financial income 196,775
___________
Loss on ordinary activities before taxation (578,678)
Tax -
___________
Loss for the period (578,678)
___________
Earnings per share
From continuing operations
Basic (0.03)
___________
Diluted (0.03)
___________
Consolidated balance sheet
As at 30 September 2006
2006
£
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment 99,003
Goodwill 2,044,146
Other intangible assets 1,003,226
___________
3,146,375
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 127,731
Cash and cash equivalents 4,632,907
___________
4,760,638
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables (143,257)
Current tax liabilities (13,333)
___________
(156,590)
Net current assets 4,604,048
___________
Net assets 7,750,423
___________
Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent
Share capital 334,333
Share premium account 5,843,828
Shares to be issued 2,041,815
Share option reserve 108,289
Foreign currency translation reserve 836
Losses (578,678)
___________
Total equity 7,750,423
___________
Consolidated cash flow
Period ended 30 September 2006
2006
Cash flows from operating activities £
Loss before taxation (578,678)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 7,960
Financial income (196,896)
Financial costs 121
___________
(767,493)
Increase in trade and other receivables (112,296)
Increase in trade and other payables 145,061
Share based payment 108,289
Exchange rate difference on investments 836
___________
Cash used in operations (625,603)
Interest paid (121)
___________
Net cash used in operating activities (625,724)
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received 196,896
Purchase of intangible assets (1,003,226)
Purchases of property, plant and equipment (106,204)
Acquisition of subsidiary (6,996)
___________
Net cash used in investing activities (919,530)
Cash flows from financing activities
Issue of share capital 7,266,970
Share issue costs (1,088,809)
___________
Net cash used in financing activities 6,178,161
___________
Cash and cash equivalents at 30 September 2006 4,632,907
___________
Notes:
______
1. The accounts are for the period 16th June 2005, when the company was
incorporated, to 30th September 2006.
2. Basis of Presentation
The financial information set out in this announcement, which does not
constitute the statutory accounts of the Group, is extracted from the Group's
statutory accounts for the period ended 30th September 2006, which were approved
by the Board on 17th November 2006. The auditors have reported on those accounts
and their report was unqualified. The full statutory accounts will be included
in the Group's annual report, which will be mailed to shareholders on 22nd
November 2006. Additional copies will be available at the Group's offices The
Hollow, Penn Lane, Melbourne, Derbyshire DE73 8EP after that date. The accounts
have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with
International Financial Reporting Standards and International Accounting
Standards, adopted for use by the European Union, and on the going concern
basis. The accounts will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies after the
Group's Annual General Meeting, which is scheduled for 15th December 2006.
3. Revenue and Segmental information
The group has not generated any revenue during the period.
The Group's operations are located in England, Italy and Tunisia.
The following is an analysis of the carrying amount of segment assets, and
additions to property and plant and equipment analysed by the geographical
area in which the assets are located.
Additions to
property
plant and
Carrying amount equipment in
of segment assets the period
2006 2006
£ £
United Kingdom 7,071 11,176
Italy 91,932 95,787
Tunisia - -
__________ __________
99,003 106,963
__________ __________
4. Earnings per share
The calculation of basic and diluted earnings per share at 30 September
2006 was based on the loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of £578,678
and a weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the
period ending 30 September 2006 of 21,929,623, as shown below.
2006
£
Net loss for the period (578,678)
__________
Basic and diluted weighted average ordinary shares in issue
during the period 21,929,623
___________
In accordance with IAS 33 and as the Group has reported a loss for the
period, the share options are not dilutive.
5. Statement of changes in equity
Share Exchange
Profit and Share Share Shares to be option difference on
loss reserve capital premium issued reserve investment Total
£ £ £ £ £ £ £
Group
16 June 2005 - - - - - - -
Loss for the period (578,678) - - - - - (578,678)
New shares issued - 334,333 6,932,637 2,041,815 - - 9,308,785
Transaction costs - - (1,088,809) - - - (1,088,809)
Share based payments
- - - - 108,289 - 108,289
Exchange difference on
investment - - - - - 836 836
__________ __________ __________ __________
30 September 2006 (578,678) 334,333 5,843,828 2,041,815 108,289 836 7,750,423
__________ __________ __________ __________ _________ __________ __________
This announcement can be viewed in full on the Company web-site www.ir-plc.com.
Stephen Staley, Managing Director, Independent Resources plc: +44 1332 865 253
Grayson Nash, Executive Chairman, Independent Resources plc: +39 339 635 8634
This information is provided by RNS
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