TIDMPFP

RNS Number : 4709A

Pathfinder Minerals Plc

29 September 2015

29 September 2015

Pathfinder Minerals Plc

("Pathfinder", "the Company" or "the Group")

INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the six months ended 30 June 2015

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

Introduction

This interim report for the six months ended 30 June 2015 closely follows the 2014 annual report, which was published at the end of June 2015. In that annual report I outlined the status of legal proceedings and efforts to restore control of the Company's mining licences which were expropriated in 2011. Save for the events described below, there have been no material reportable events since the publication of my last statement.

Steps to recover the Company's assets

The Company continues to pursue the legal enforcement of its rights in Mozambique in respect of the English court's determination that Pathfinder did validly acquire its shareholding in Companhia Mineira de Naburi S.A.R.L ("CMDN"). In addition there remain several ancillary legal proceedings ongoing, each of which relates to the same issue of the Company's ownership and control of CMDN. It is not known when judgments on current proceedings will be received.

A further legal route, by which the Company may seek to recover its assets or compensation for its loss from the Government of Mozambique, remains under advanced consideration.

In parallel with the legal process, representatives of the Company continue to have a dialogue with the Government of Mozambique which, it is hoped, will ultimately yield a faster resolution than that which the courts may achieve.

Legal proceedings in Mozambique

There were no reportable legal developments during the six months ended 30 June 2015.

The most recent development in the Mozambique courts was the Supreme Court's rejection, earlier this month, of the Company's application for permission to appeal against the Supreme Court's earlier decision (announced on 31 December 2014) to refuse the Company's application for recognition of orders by the English court for costs aggregating GBP106,000 to be paid by General Jacinto Veloso, Diogo Cavaco and JV Consultores Internacionais, Limitada.

The Company pursued two avenues of appeal against this decision. The first was a substantive appeal against the Supreme Court's refusal to recognise the English costs awards. On this matter, the Supreme Court refused to admit an appeal on the basis that there is no right to appeal against a Supreme Court recognition decision.

The second avenue pursued by the Company was what is called a 'harmonisation of laws' appeal. It is an appeal based on the existence of a previous conflicting decision. In Pathfinder's case the Supreme Court refused to recognise the judgments in question because it found that the customary clauses conferring jurisdiction on the English Courts (which were contained in the underlying agreements through which the Company acquired CMDN) did not satisfy the requirements of Mozambique law.

However, in a previous decision, the Supreme Court had agreed to recognise a foreign judgment where the jurisdiction of the foreign court was derived from a clause similar to that in the Pathfinder agreements. The Supreme Court has therefore admitted the harmonisation of laws appeal.

However, as a matter of Mozambique law, a successful appeal on this point does not affect the underlying decision not to recognise the relevant costs judgments in this case. Its effect will be only to clarify the law going forward. The Company is therefore advised by its Mozambique lawyers that the 'harmonisation of laws' appeal decision may have positive implications for the Company's pending (second) application for recognition of the English court's substantive decision in respect of the agreements by which Pathfinder acquired its shares in CMDN.

Regardless of any perceived implications this 'harmonisation of laws' decision may have on the pending decision from the Supreme Court, it is inappropriate to speculate on the likely outcome of the application for recognition of the English court decision; and, whatever the outcome, the Company may still seek to recover its assets or seek compensation for its loss by other means.

Corporate events

No noteworthy corporate events occurred during the six months ended 30 June 2015.

At the recent Annual General Meeting held on 7 September, the Company's shareholders approved a share capital reorganisation which took effect the following day. The consequence was that every 10 'old' shares have been exchanged for 1 'new' share in a manner which did not itself impact the market value of individual holdings.

While the Directors continue to believe that the Company has sufficient resources to see through its strategy to recover its assets in the expected timeframe, the capital reorganisation also facilitates the raising of future equity finance subject to market conditions, should there be a delay. The Company anticipates that, at projected rates of expenditure, additional funding will be required in the first quarter of 2016.

Financial results and current financial position

The financial results of Pathfinder are, as for any pre-revenue company which does not currently have operations, very straightforward. The most important financial measurement continues to be whether Pathfinder has sufficient cash to see through its strategy to recover its assets. The board continues to exercise prudence with expenditure.

The financial statements of the Pathfinder Group for the first half of 2015 follow later in this report. The Income Statement shows a loss of GBP695,000 (H1 2014 - GBP606,000). Since the Company has been prevented from conducting any activity relating to mining, the large majority of this loss can be attributed to the Company's attempts to recover its expropriated licences.

The Group's Statement of Financial Position shows net assets at 30 June 2015 of GBP440,000 (31 December 2014 - GBP1,135,000). The assets are held largely in the form of cash deposits (totalling GBP592,000 at the end of the period).

Outlook

Pathfinder continues vigorously to pursue all avenues to recover its expropriated mining licences, both through the Mozambique courts and through its dialogue with the Government of Mozambique. The Company will continue to update shareholders with material developments as and when they occur.

Henry Bellingham

Chairman

28 September 2015

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

 
                                      Unaudited   Unaudited     Audited 
                                       6 months    6 months       Year 
                                        ended       ended         ended 
                                       30 June        30       31 December 
                                         2015        June         2014 
                                                     2014 
                                     ----------  ----------  ------------- 
 
                                      GBP '000       GBP        GBP '000 
                                                     '000 
 
 Revenue                                  -           -            - 
 Administrative expenses                  (699)       (614)        (1,070) 
                                     ----------  ----------  ------------- 
 
 Operating loss                           (699)       (614)        (1,070) 
 Finance income                               4           8             14 
                                     ----------  ----------  ------------- 
 Loss on ordinary activities 
  before taxation                         (695)       (606)        (1,056) 
 Taxation                                 -           -            - 
 Comprehensive loss for the 
  period                                  (695)       (606)        (1,056) 
                                     ==========  ==========  ============= 
 
   Loss per share 
    (based on 1,037,167,230 shares 
    in issue throughout each 
    of the periods covered by 
    this report)                         (0.1p)      (0.1p)         (0.1p) 
 

STATEMENT OF CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL POSITION

 
                                Unaudited   Unaudited     Audited 
                                 30 June        30       31 December 
                                   2015        June         2014 
                                               2014 
                               ----------  ----------  ------------- 
 
                                GBP '000       GBP        GBP '000 
                                               '000 
 Assets 
 Current assets 
 Trade and other receivables          123         180             61 
 Cash and cash equivalents            592       1,619          1,172 
                                      715       1,799          1,233 
                               ----------  ----------  ------------- 
 Total assets                         715       1,799          1,233 
                               ----------  ----------  ------------- 
 Liabilities 
 Current liabilities 
 Trade and other payables             275         214             98 
 Total liabilities                    275         214             98 
                               ----------  ----------  ------------- 
 
 Total net assets                     440       1,585          1,135 
                               ==========  ==========  ============= 
 
 Equity 
 Share capital - issued and 
  fully paid                       18,289      18,289         18,289 
 Share premium                     11,022      11,022         11,022 
 Retained loss                   (28,871)    (27,726)       (28,176) 
 Total equity                         440       1,585          1,135 
                               ==========  ==========  ============= 
 

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