Final Results

RNS Number : 1221I

Aurum Mining PLC

09 June 2011

 

AURUM MINING PLC

("Aurum" or "the Company")

9 June 2011

FINAL RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2011

Aurum Mining plc (AIM: AUR) is pleased to announce its final results for the year ended 31 March 2011.

Review of Activities

The last twelve months have been a period of intense activity and sustained progress for the Company. During the year, Aurum has undergone radical transformation and the Company is now well positioned to fulfill on its investing strategy as approved by the Company's Shareholders in November 2009.

It is the Company's intention to take advantage of and exploit some of the convincing mining opportunities that are available in the market and the Board feels that the Company now has sufficient funding, a supportive shareholder base and the appropriate personnel and adviser team to ensure the Company's strategy is delivered.

Background

In December 2009, on the completion of the disposal of the Andash asset in Kyrgyzstan, Aurum became an investing company pursuant to the AIM Rules for Companies. This meant that the Company had 12 months in which to execute an appropriate transaction in order to ensure its shares continued to trade on AIM.

However, it became apparent during the summer of 2010 that certain of the Company's then major shareholders were in favour of a return of a significant proportion of the Company's cash to Shareholders. The Board subsequently agreed to return £7.72m to Shareholders in late 2010. Due to the fact that the Directors were concentrating their efforts on the return of cash to shareholders, the Company was unable to execute an appropriate transaction within the 12 month time limit and trading in its ordinary shares on AIM was suspended on 23 December 2010.

With the return of cash completed at the end of December 2010, the key objective for the Company was to restructure the shareholder register and to bring on board investors who were committed to the growth and development of Aurum. In this respect, the Company was extremely fortuitous in that a number of key new investors, who could see the potential of Aurum as an investment vehicle, were able to acquire significant shareholdings in the Company. With this new supportive shareholder base the Board was able to look forward with confidence.

With the Company's shares suspended from trading on AIM, the Board was focused on completing a transaction which would qualify for the restoration of trading of its shares and provide a springboard for the future development of the Company.

The Board was therefore delighted to announce in March 2011, that it had entered into a joint venture agreement with Ormonde Mining plc ("Ormonde") under which Aurum will partner with Ormonde in gold exploration over four permit areas in northwest Spain, which are considered by the Board to be highly prospective for gold. Under the terms of the joint venture agreement with Ormonde, Aurum has committed to expend Euros 500,000 on exploration work over an eighteen month period across the four permit areas in return for 60% of Ormonde's interest in these permit areas.

Following the completion of the joint venture agreement with Ormonde, trading in the ordinary shares of the Company on AIM was restored on 14 March 2011.

The Aurum Board is excited about the opportunity these permit areas represent and looks forward to working alongside Ormonde over the next eighteen months and beyond. The first tranche of Aurum's investment into the joint venture has now taken place and drilling work on one of the permit areas has already begun with results of the drilling expected at some point over the summer months.

Equity Fundraising

With the Ormonde transaction completed, Aurum's admission to trading on AIM protected and the Company's strategic direction clarified, the Board felt it appropriate to complete an equity fundraising to strengthen the Company's balance sheet and to give the Company sufficient funds to appraise projects and to complete transactions.

Key to the completion of an equity fundraising was the need to appoint a new broker who was fully supportive of the Aurum Board and strategy and who could assist the Company in identifying potential acquisitions. At the end of March 2011, the Board appointed Fairfax I.S. PLC ("Fairfax") as broker and nominated adviser to the Company and immediately set about the equity fundraising. In April 2011, the Board announced that it had successfully raised £2m (before expenses) by way of an equity issue. The equity fundraising was approved by Shareholders at a general meeting. The Board would like to thank existing Shareholders for their support and extend a very warm welcome to all the new Shareholders of the Company.

Next steps

The Board is now fully focused on identifying and completing an acquisition or acquisitions that will ensure the long term future of the Company and create shareholder value.

The Board is currently looking at a number of exciting opportunities across a wide range of geographies and commodities and looks forward to updating the market when a suitable acquisition is identified and the transaction completed.

As outlined in the circular published by the Company on 6 April 2011, the Board has set itself a target of completing a substantial transaction by the end of calendar year.

In the meantime, the Board very much hopes that it will be able to deliver some news from the ongoing exploration work being carried out by the Company's Spanish joint venture with Ormonde.

Key Financials

For the year to 31 March 2011, the Group reported a loss of $3.4m compared to a loss of $1.0m in 2010.

Gross cash at the end of May 2011 was circa £2.5m.

During this year of transition, cash management and cost control have remained key priorities for the Company.

Corporate

Following the return of cash in December 2010 and the subsequent efforts to reduce costs, Mark Jones stepped down as Chief Executive Officer in order to pursue other business opportunities. However, given Mark's substantial expertise, the Company was pleased that he remained on the Board as a non-executive Director. Chris Eadie replaced Mark Jones as Chief Executive Officer.

Dr Colin Knight stepped down from the Board with effect from 1 January 2011. The Board would like to thank Colin for his tremendous efforts and commitment towards Aurum over the last few years.

We would also like to thank our staff for their unwavering effort and determination during the last twelve months and the Company's advisers and consultants for their support.

Sean Finlay

Chairman

Chris Eadie

Chief Executive Officer

9 June 2011

The Company's Annual Report will be dispatched to shareholders shortly.  The Accounts include notice of the Company's Annual General Meeting to be held at 12 noon on 8 July 2011 at 4 More London Riverside, London, SE1 2AU.  A hard copy of the Annual Report and the notice of the AGM are also available on the Company's website: http://www.aurummining.net.

Contact details:

Aurum Mining plc	Tel: [phone]
Chris Eadie, Chief Executive Officer
Fairfax I.S. PLC	Tel: [phone]
Ewan Leggat / Laura Littley

CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT

Year ended 31 March 2011

	2011	2010
	$'000	$'000
Impairment of available for sale investment	(1,250)	-
Other administrative expenses	(1,910)	(2,428)
Operating loss	(3,160)	(2,428)
Finance income	26	739
Finance expenses	(285)	-
Loss for the year before taxation	(3,419)	(1,689)
Taxation	-	-
Loss for the year from continuing operations	(3,419)	(1,689)
Profit for the year from discontinued operations	-	726
Loss attributable to the equity shareholders of the parent company	(3,419)	(963)
Loss per share expressed in US cents per share
From continuing operations
Basic and Diluted	(7.09)c	(3.51)c
From discontinued operations
Basic and Diluted	-	1.51c
Total operations
Basic and Diluted	(7.09)c	(2.00)c

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Year ended 31 March 2011

	2011	2010
	$'000	$'000
Loss after taxation for the financial year	(3,419)	(963)
Other comprehensive income:
Exchange translation differences on consolidation of Group entities	572	(28)
Other comprehensive income	572	(28)
Total comprehensive expense attributable to the equity shareholders of the parent company	(2,847)	(991)

CONSOLIDATED AND COMPANY STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

As at 31 March 2011

Company number : 5059457	Group		Company
	2011	2010	2011	2010
	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000
Assets
Non-current assets
Available for sale financial asset	-	1,250	-	-
Property, plant and equipment	4	11	4	11
Amounts owed by subsidiaries	-	-	-	1,242
Total non-current assets	4	1,261	4	1,253
Current assets
Receivables	98	280	98	279
Cash and cash equivalents	1,173	14,584	1,173	14,579
Total current assets	1,271	14,864	1,271	14,858
Total assets	1,275	16,125	1,275	16,111
Liabilities
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables	180	503	180	491
Total current liabilities	180	503	180	491
Total liabilities	180	503	180	491
Net  assets	1,095	15,622	1,095	15,620
Capital and reserves attributable to the equity holders of the company
Share capital	973	921	973	921
Share premium account	29,227	40,609	29,227	40,609
Merger reserve	5,816	5,816	5,816	5,816
Presentational currency translation reserve	(12,923)	(13,495)	(12,960)	(13,493)
Warrant reserve	-	350	-	350
Retained earnings	(21,998)	(18,579)	(21,961)	(18,583)
Total Equity	1,095	15,622	1,095	15,620

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

Year ended 31 March 2011

	Share capital	Share premium	Merger reserve	Present-ational currency translation reserve	Warrant reserve	Retained earnings	Total Equity
	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000
At 1 April 2009	921	64,295	5,816	(13,467)	350	(17,665)	40,250
Total comprehensive expense for the year	-	-	-	(28)	-	(963)	(991)
Issue of B shares (see note 17)	23,686	(23,686)	-	-	-	-	-
Capital repayments to shareholders (see note 17)	(23,686)	-	-	-	-	-	(23,686)
Share based payments	-	-	-	-	-	49	49
At 31 March 2010	921	40,609	5,816	(13,495)	350	(18,579)	15,622

Total comprehensive expense for the year	-	-	-	572	-	(3,419)	(2,847)
Conversion of warrants	13	414	-	-	(350)	-	77
Exercise of share options	39	320	-	-	-	-	359
Issue of B shares (see note 17)	12,116	(12,116)	-	-	-	-	-
Capital repayments to shareholders (see note 17)	(12,116)	-	-	-	-	-	(12,116)
At 31 March 2011	973	29,227	5,816	(12,923)	-	(21,998)	1,095

COMPANY STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

Year ended 31 March 2010

	Share capital	Share premium	Merger reserve	Present-ational currency translation reserve	Warrant reserve	Retained earnings	Total Equity
	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000
At 1 April 2009	921	64,295	5,816	(15,545)	350	(15,665)	40,172
Total comprehensive expense for the year	-	-	-	2,052	-	(2,967)	(915)
Issue of B shares (see note 17)	23,686	(23,686)	-	-	-	-	-
Capital repayments to shareholders (see note 17)	(23,686)	-	-	-	-	-	(23,686)
Share based payments	-	-	-	-	-	49	49
At 31 March 2010	921	40,609	5,816	(13,493)	350	(18,583)	15,620

Total comprehensive expense for the year	-	-	-	533	-	(3,378)	(2,845)
Conversion of warrants	13	414	-	-	(350)	-	77
Exercise of share options	39	320	-	-	-	-	359
Issue of B shares (see note 17)	12,116	(12,116)	-	-	-	-	-
Capital repayments to shareholders (see note 17)	(12,116)	-	-	-	-	-	(12,116)
At 31 March 2011	973	29,227	5,816	(12,960)	-	(21,961)	1,095

The following describes the nature and purpose of each reserve within owners' equity.

Reserve	Description and purpose
Share premium	Amounts subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value.
Merger reserve	Merger relief reserve for amount in excess of nominal value on issue of shares in relation to business combinations.
Warrant reserve	Fair value of the warrants issued as part of compound financial instruments.
Presentational currency translation reserve	Gains/losses arising on retranslating the net assets of Group operations into US Dollars.
Retained earnings	Cumulative net gains and losses recognised in the income statement less distributions made.

The Company has taken advantage of the exemption provided under Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 not to publish its individual income statement, statement of comprehensive income and related notes. The Company's loss for the year was $3,378k (2010: loss of $2,967k).

CONSOLIDATED AND COMPANY STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

Year ended 31 March 2011

	Group		Company
	2011	2010	2011	2010
	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Loss for the year before tax	(3,419)	(963)	(3,378)	(2,967)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment	7	10	7	10
Finance income	(26)	(739)	(26)	(739)
Finance expense	285	-	285	-
(Profit)/loss on sale of discontinued operations	-	(1,489)	-	1,255
Impairment losses	1,250	-	1,242	48
Share based payments	-	49	-	49
Cash flow from operating activities before changes in working capital	(1,903)	(3,132)	(1,870)	(2,344)
Decrease in trade and other receivables	182	671	181	516
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables	(323)	101	(311)	281
Net cash flow used in operating activities	(2,044)	(2,360)	(2,000)	(1,547)
Investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment	-	(26)	-	(4)
Disposal of discontinued operations, net of cash disposed of	-	1,473	-	1,473
Purchase of available for sale financial asset	-	(1,250)	-	-
Interest income	26	5	26	5
Net cash flow from investing activities	26	202	26	1,474

	Group		Company
	2011	2010	2011	2010
	$'000	$'000	$'000	$'000
Financing activities
Capital repayments to shareholders	(12,116)	(23,686)	(12,116)	(23,686)
Increase in loans to subsidiaries	-	-	(33)	(1,993)
Proceeds from conversion of warrants	77	-	77	-
Proceeds from issue of share capital	359	-	359	-
Repayment of loan	-	13,500	-	13,500
Net cash flow used in financing activities	(11,680)	(10,186)	(11,713)	(12,179)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents	(13,698)	(12,344)	(13,689)	(12,252)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year	14,584	25,680	14,579	25,620
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents	287	1,248	283	1,211
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year	1,173	14,584	1,173	14,579

Principal activity

Following the completion of the disposal of the Andash asset in December 2009, the Company became an 'investing company' pursuant to Rule 15 of the AIM Rules for Companies.

The Company's investment strategy is to acquire mining assets either by taking outright control or through partnering arrangements.

Prior to the disposal of the Andash asset the Group operated mining assets in Kyrgyzstan.

On 14 March 2011 the Company announced that it had entered into a joint venture agreement with Ormonde under which Aurum will partner with Ormonde in gold exploration over four permit areas in northwest Spain.

Dividends

The Directors do not recommend payment of a dividend for the year (2010: £nil). 

Principal risks and uncertainties

At the present time, there is strong competition within the mining industry for the identification and acquisition of appropriate assets. The Company competes with other exploration and production companies for these assets, some of which have greater financial resources than the Company, for the acquisition of properties, leases and other interests. The challenge for management is to secure appropriate assets without having to overpay for them.

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

The Company is currently an investing company, with an intention of becoming a resource development or exploration entity in due course. Consequently, the key performance indicators for the Company will be linked to the specific projects acquired and the increase in overall enterprise value of the Company.

The key performance indicators of the Group are as follows:

	2011	2010
Loss per share	$(7.09)c	$(2.00)c
Share price at 31 March	4.0p	13.9p
Cash at bank	$1.2m	$14.6m
Cash returned to shareholders	$12.1m	$23.7m

NOTES

1. BASIS OF PREPARATION

The financial information set out above, which was approved by the Board on 9 June 2011, has been compiled in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union ("IFRS"), but does not contain sufficient information to comply with IFRS. The Company expects to distribute its full financial statements that comply with IFRS shortly. The financial statements have been prepared on the historic cost basis.

The financial information set out above does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the year ended 31 March 2011 but is extracted from those accounts. The Company's statutory accounts for the year ended 31 March 2011 will be filed with the Registrar of Companies following the Company's annual general meeting. The independent auditors' report on those accounts was unqualified, did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis without qualifying those accounts and did not contain any statement under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006. The Company's statutory accounts for the year ended 31 March 2010 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The independent auditors' report on those accounts was unqualified, did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis without qualifying those accounts and did not contain any statement under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis. The Board feel the Group has sufficient cash resources to enable it to pursue its strategy and continue as a going concern.

2. SEGMENTAL INFORMATION

In the current year the Group had one reportable segment: Corporate and Investment. In the prior year the Group had two reportable segments: Corporate and Investment and Mining.

Corporate and Investment - The heads office activities of the Group and all non-current assets allocated to corporate activities in the United Kingdom.

Mining - The mining, production and exploration of gold and other precious metals and all non-current assets allocated to mining activities in the Kyrgyz Republic.

The operating results of these segments are regularly reviewed by the Group's chief operating decision makers in order to make decisions about the allocation of resources and access their performance.

The segment results as follows:

Year ended 31 March 2011	Corporate and Investment $'000		Group $'000
Operating expenses	(3,160)		(3,160)
Segment result	(3,160)		(3,160)
Finance income			26
Finance expenses			(285)
Loss for the year			(3,419)

Year ended 31 March 2010	Corporate and Investment $'000	Mining $'000	Group $'000
Profit on sale of discontinued operations	-	1,489	1,489
Operating expenses	(2,428)	(763)	(3,191)
Segment result	(2,428)	(726)	(1,702)
Finance income			739
Finance expenses			-
Loss for the year			(963)

Other segment items included in the income statement are as follows:              

Year ended 31 March 2011	Corporate and Investment $'000		Group $'000
Depreciation	7		7
Impairment of assets	(1,250)		(1,250)

Year ended 31 March 2010	Corporate and Investment $'000	Mining $'000	Group $'000
Depreciation	10	-	10
Share based compensation charges	49	-	49

The segment assets and liabilities and capital expenditure are analysed as follows:

Year ended 31 March 2011	Corporate and Investment   $'000		Group       $'000
Segment assets	1,275		1,275
Segment liabilities	(180)		(180)
Segment net assets	1,095		1,095
Capital expenditure	-		-

Year ended 31 March 2010	Corporate and Investment   $'000	Mining      $'000	Group       $'000
Segment assets	16,125	-	16,125
Segment liabilities	(503)	-	(503)
Segment net assets	15,622	-	15,622
Capital expenditure	4	22	26

3. DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS

On 22 December 2009 the Group completed the disposal of Kaldora Company Limited and the Andash Mining Company, which operated in the Kyrgyz Republic. The Group owned 100% of the Andash Mining Company until 22 October 2009, when it disposed of 20% of the Company to local interests as part of settlement of the Bishkek court case and to secure its mining rights. Gross proceeds for the disposal amounted to $15m which included repayment of a $13.5m intercompany loan by Andash Mining Company.

In the current year there were no discontinued operations.

Financial information relating to the discontinued operations for the prior year to the date of disposal is set out below.

GROUP

Consideration received:	2010 $'000
Consideration Cash	1,501
Consideration Option fee (cash)	250
Legal costs directly attributable to sale of Kaldora and Andash	(278)
Net consideration	1,473
Net assets disposed:
Non-current assets	14,051
Inventories	29
Trade and other receivables	79
Trade and other payables	(2)
Repayment of intercompany loan	(13,500)
Total net assets disposed of	657
Recycling of cumulative translation reserve (Kaldora + Andash)	(673)
Total disposed of	(16)
Gain on disposal of discontinued operations	1,489
Results of discontinued operations:	2010 $'000
Operating expenses	(763)
Gain from selling operations after tax	1,489
Profit/ (loss) from discontinued operations	726
The cash flow statements includes the following amounts relating to discontinued operations:
Cash flow used in operating activities	(763)
Cash flow from investing activities	1,473
Cash flow from financing activities	13,500
Total cash flows from discontinued operations	14,210

4. TAXATION

No current or deferred tax charge has arisen in the current year. 

The Company and the Group have incurred tax losses for the year and a corporation tax charge is not anticipated. At 31 March 2011, the Group had tax losses of $7.9m (2010: $6.1m) carried forward which can be used against future profits. The majority of these losses arose in a jurisdiction with a lower tax rate than in the UK. However, these losses are only recoverable against future profits, the timing of which is uncertain and as a result no deferred tax asset is being recognized in relation to these losses.

The total of potential deferred tax assets relating to tax losses which have not been recognised for in the financial statements amount to $2.2m (2010: $1.7m).

The Directors believe that there have been no breaches of foreign tax regulations and that all necessary provisions have been made in these accounts. 

Current taxation

The tax assessed for the year is different from the standard rate of Corporation Tax in the UK.  The differences are explained below:

	2011	2010
	$'000	$'000
Loss before taxation	(3,419)	(963)
Loss at the standard rate of Corporation tax in the UK of 28% (2010: 28%)	(957)	(270)
Effects of:
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes	(383)	(24)
Unutilised tax losses carried forward	(574)	294
Current tax charge	-	-

The Group did not recognise any deferred tax assets or liabilities at 31 March 2011 or 2010.

5. LOSS PER SHARE

Basic loss per share is calculated by dividing the loss attributable to the ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year.

For diluted loss per share, the weighted average number of shares in issue is adjusted to assume conversion of all the dilutive potential ordinary shares.

In 2011 and 2010 the potential ordinary shares are anti-dilutive and therefore diluted loss per share has not been calculated.

At the balance sheet date there were nil (2010: 3,805,000) potentially dilutive ordinary shares. Dilutive potential ordinary shares include share options and warrants.

	2011	2010
	$'000	$'000
Net loss attributable to equity holders of the parent:
From continuing operations	(3,419)	(1,689)
From discontinued operations	-	726
From total operations	(3,419)	(963)

	2011	2010
	Number	Number
Weighted average number of shares:
Basic Loss per share	48,253,934	48,188,275
Effect of dilutive share options and warrants	-	-
Diluted loss per share	48,253,934	48,188,275

 

END

 

 

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