BowLeven's (BLVN) full-year operating loss narrowed by 32 per cent to $11.1m (£7m), but the Africa oil and gas explorer remains focused on moving its offshore Etinde project in Cameroon towards government sanction - and, from there, to a final investment decision.
Accordingly, an updated exploitation authorisation application (EAA) was submitted to the Cameroon authorities in September and a decision is expected by the year-end. The updated EAA under review now includes details of BowLeven's mean contingent resource base, which increased 30 per cent in the period to 263m barrels of oil equivalent - reflecting this year's successful drilling programme at the Etinde IM-5 well.
Indeed, there's enough gas in IM-5 to supply the needs of a fertilizer plant, linked to the Etinde project, which is being developed with Germany's Ferrostaal GmbH. While no additional appraisal is required at IM-5, BowLeven is now raising £13.3m through a placing and open offer to fund studies into the plant's front-end engineering. The Etinde appraisal programme, and survey activity in Kenya, meant capital expenditure rose 12 per cent to $109.4m. But the drain on BowLeven's capital will be far more modest during 2014, while development funding for phase-1 of Etinde has already been secured through a $500m agreement with Petrofac (PFC).
BOWLEVEN (BLVN) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 46p | MARKET VALUE: | £62.4m | |
| TOUCH: | 45.8p-46p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 102p | LOW: 46p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 420¢* | NET CASH: | $24.7m | |
| Year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | nil | -10.2 | -12.0 | nil |
| 2010 | nil | 19.5 | 10.0 | nil |
| 2011 | nil | -76.8 | -37.0 | nil |
| 2012 | nil | -13.1 | -5.00 | nil |
| 2013 | nil | -11.1 | -4.00 | nil |
| % change | - | - | - | - |
Ex-div: - Payment: - *Includes intangible assets of $533m, or 393¢ a share £1=$1.59 | ||||
