Ormonde Mining Plc

Earnings Release • Apr 8, 2020

National Storage Mechanism | Additional information

RNS Number : 1294J

Ormonde Mining PLC

08 April 2020

8 April 2020

Ormonde Mining plc

("Ormonde" or "the Company")

Final Results for the year ended 31 December 2019

DUBLIN & LONDON: 8 April 2020 - Ormonde announces its final results for the year ended 31 December 2019.

·    Sale of interest in the Barruecopardo Tungsten Mine, Spain, for €6 million net cash consideration, against a backdrop of slower than planned ramp-up and commissioning, together with a poor commodity price environment and significant near term funding requirement;

·    Restructuring of Ormonde Board and Management:

·    Jonathan Henry, formerly a non-executive director, stepping up to the position of Executive Chairman;

·    Tim Livesey and Richard Brown join the Board as non-executive directors, bringing a wealth of corporate and technical experience;

·    Following the disposal, Management and Board have been focussed on assessing opportunities available in the resource sector for a transaction with the potential to transform shareholder value;

·    Over sixty opportunities have been assessed over the last two months, with a number of these being considered for advancement.  Additional opportunities expected to arise given the present macroeconomic environment.

Jonathan Henry, Ormonde's Executive Chairman, commented:

"Following the disposal of our interest in the Barruecopardo Mine, Ormonde's new Board and Executive Management have focussed on identifying opportunities in the resource sector capable of transforming shareholder value.  This work has progressed rapidly with a number of opportunities being actively considered.

While the COVID-19 situation has created an unprecedented set of circumstances, and with international travel having ceased entirely, Ormonde is continuing to review current and new opportunities, and armed with the €6 million cash disposal proceeds, is in a strong financial position from which to develop its business over the coming period."

Annual General Meeting

Due to restrictions brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, Ormonde's AGM, which had been planned for mid-May 2020, will now be scheduled for a later date.  A Notice of AGM, which will include the date and venue (or method of accessing if held virtually) for the AGM, will be posted to Shareholders as soon as possible following the Company being in a position to set a firm date.  

Enquiries to:

Ormonde Mining plc

Paul Carroll, Chief Financial Officer

Fraser Gardiner, Chief Operating Officer

Email: info@ormondemining.com

Davy (Nomad, Euronext Growth Advisor and Joint Broker)

John Frain / Barry Murphy

Tel: +353 (0)1 679 6363

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Joint Broker)

Ewan Leggat

Tel: +44 (0)20 3 470 0470

Capital M Consultants

Simon Rothschild

Mob: +44 (0)7703 167065

Murray Consultants

Mark Brennock

Tel: +353 (0)1 4980300

Mob: +353 (0)87 2335923

CHAIRMAN'S REVIEW

2019 proved to be a difficult year for the now divested Barruecopardo Tungsten Mine (the "Mine") in Spain, in which Ormonde had held a 30% interest in partnership with Oaktree Capital Management ("Oaktree"), as the Mine's ramp-up hit a number of operational issues. The related financial impact was initially addressed through an additional €10 million debt facility provided by Oaktree.  However, this proved to be inadequate, and when an additional and significant capital requirement was tabled by the Spanish operating company, Saloro SLU ("Saloro"), in late 2019, the Ormonde board of directors (the "Board") decided that shareholder value would be best preserved through the disposal of our interest in the Mine for cash.

Disposal and receipt of €6 million cash consideration

The disposal of the Company's interest in the Mine was agreed with Oaktree in January 2020 and, following its approval by Ormonde shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting ("EGM") in February 2020, Ormonde received a net cash consideration of €6 million. 

As set out in a circular sent to shareholders ahead of the EGM, the Board strongly believed that a disposal was the best option available to the Company as it would retain maximum value for shareholders when compared with the alternative options. Recent macroeconomic events, together with a Royal Decree in force in Spain requiring temporary cessation of all Spanish mines, have bolstered this position. 

Board & Management restructuring

On completion of the disposal, Ormonde made a number of changes to the Board and Management, with Mike Donoghue and John Carroll, who had provided the Company with many years of dedicated service, retiring from the Board and being replaced by Tim Livesey and Richard Brown.  Tim and Richard bring extensive capital markets and mining industry experience, together with a combination of strong technical, commercial and governance credentials.

At the same time, I moved to the position of Executive Chairman and in this new executive position I very much look forward to driving the business towards a new and exciting future, ably supported by the new Board and the executive team.

Current projects

Ormonde continues to retain its exploration and development assets in Spain, being the Salamanca and Zamora Gold Projects and its assets relating to the La Zarza Copper-Gold Project. While we continue to seek ways to maximise value for shareholders from these assets, including the sale of the La Zarza Copper-Gold project, any material expenditure on advancing these assets will not be incurred until a decision has been made in respect of new opportunities.

New opportunities

The Board and Management are now focused on identifying and assessing potential investment opportunities in the resource sector.  As at the time of writing, the Company has reviewed over sixty projects across a wide spectrum of commodities and jurisdictions, with most having been ruled out under objective criteria.  However, a small number of these opportunities remain promising, being of an appropriate scale whereby our cash would be meaningful, and when brought together with the asset could have a high impact over the short to medium term with the potential to add materially to shareholder value.

While a significant amount of work has been carried out in this area over a short period of time, of late the coronavirus pandemic has had a limiting impact on activities, with international travel having ceased entirely and domestic travel facing severe restrictions.  While this has hampered initial review and detailed due diligence processes, we believe that such promising opportunities will remain available over the short to medium term and our strong cash balance will attract an increased number of new opportunities over the coming period. 

Financials

The Ormonde Group has reported a loss after tax for the year of €11.3 million compared with a loss of €1.65 million for 2018.  Loss from continuing operations totaled €0.9 million (2018: €1.62 million), with a loss from discontinued operations of €10.4 million (2018: €26k) which relates to the disposal of Ormonde's interest in the Mine.

Finally, I would like to thank all our stakeholders, including the Company's shareholders, management, employees, directors and advisors for their continued support and dedication.  I wish you all well in what is certainly a difficult time for all.  Stay safe!

Jonathan Henry

Executive Chairman

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

for the year ended 31 December 2019

		Restated*
	Year ended	Year ended
	31-Dec-19	31-Dec-18
	€000s	€000s
Continuing Operations
Administration expenses	(855)	(1,023)
Impairment of intangible assets	(49)	(600)
	______	______
Loss before financing and income tax	(904)	(1,623)
Income tax expense	-	(1)
	______	______
Loss for the year from continuing operations	(904)	(1,624)
Loss from discontinued operations	(10,399)	(26)
	______	______
Loss for the year	(11,303)	(1,650)
Other comprehensive income
Foreign exchange relating to discontinued operations	332	523
	______	______
Total comprehensive loss for the period	(10,971)	(1,127)
Earnings per share from continuing operations
Basic & diluted loss per share (in cent)	(0.19)	(0.34)
Profit / (Loss) per share
Basic & diluted loss per share (in cent)	(2.39)	(0.35)

*When an operation is classified as a discontinued operation, the comparative statement of income is reclassified as if the operation had been discontinued from the start of the comparative period.

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

as at 31 December 2019

	31-Dec-19	31-Dec-18
	€000s	€000s
Assets
Non-current assets
Intangible assets	285	324
Investment in associates	-	16,718
	_______	_______
Total non-current assets	285	17,042
Current assets
Trade & other receivables	379	42
Assets classified held for resale	8,400	2,400
Cash & cash equivalents	130	399
	_______	_______
Total current assets	8,909	2,841
	_______	_______
Total assets	9,194	19,883
Equity & liabilities
Capital and reserves
Issued share capital	13,485	13,485
Share premium account	29,932	29,932
Share based payment reserve	837	837
Capital conversion reserve fund	29	29
Capital redemption reserve fund	7	7
Foreign currency translation reserve	1,600	1,268
Retained losses	(37,265)	(25,962)
	_______	_______
Total equity - attributable to the owners of the Company	8,625	19,596
Current liabilities
Trade & other payables	569	287
	_______	_______
Total liabilities	569	287
	_______	_______
Total equity & liabilities	9,194	19,883

Consolidated Statement of Cashflows

for the year ended 31 December 2019

Restated*

	Year ended	Year ended
	31-Dec-19	31-Dec-18
	€000s	€000s
Cashflows from operating activities
Loss for the year before taxation
Continuing operations	(904)	(1,624)
Discontinued operations	(10,399)	(26)
	________	________
	(11,303)	(1,650)
Adjustments for:
Impairment of intangibles assets	49	600
Impairment of investment in associate	7,787	0
Share for loss in associate	3,263	776
Tax expense	-	(1)
	________	________
Cashflow from operating activities	(204)	(275)
Movement in working capital
Movement in debtors	(337)	(10)
Movement in creditors	282	186
	________	________
Net cash used in operating activities	(259)	(99)
Cashflow from investing activities
Net expenditure on intangible assets	(10)	(13)
	________	________
Net cash used in investing activities	(10)	(13)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents	(269)	(112)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year	399	511
	______	______
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year	130	399

*When an operation is classified as a discontinued operation, the comparative statement of income is reclassified as if the operation had been discontinued from the start of the comparative period.

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

for the year ended 31 December 2019

			Share Based Payment Reserve
	Share Capital	Share Premium	Other Reserve	Retained Losses	Total
	€000s	€000s	€000s	€000s	€000s	€000s
At 1 January 2018	13,485	29,932	837	781	(24,312)	20,723
Loss for the year	-	-	-	-	(1,650)	(1,650)
FX on associate	-	-	-	523	-	523
	______	______	______	______	______	______
At 31 December 2018	13,485	29,932	837	1,304	(25,962)	19,596
Loss for the year	-	-	-	-	(11,303)	(11,303)
FX on associate	-	-	-	332	-	332
	______	______	______	______	______	______
At 31 December 2019	13,485	29,932	837	1,636	(37,265)	8,625

1.   The basic loss per share and the diluted loss per share have been calculated on a loss after taxation of €11,303,495 (2018: loss of €1,649,996) and a weighted average number of Ordinary Shares in issue for the year of 472,507,482 (2018: 472,507,482) for the basic loss per share and 472,507,482 (2018: 472,507,482) for the diluted loss per share.

2.   The financial information prepared using accounting policies consistent with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as adopted by the European Union included in this preliminary statement does not constitute the statutory financial statements for the purposes of Chapter 4 of part 6 of the Companies Act 2014.  Full statutory statements for the year ended 31 December 2019 prepared in accordance with IFRS, upon which the auditors have given an unqualified report, have not yet been filed with the Registrar of Companies.  Full financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2018 prepared in accordance with IFRS and containing an unqualified report, have been filed with the Registrar of Companies.

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