Final Results

Tertiary Minerals PLC 09 December 2002 Tertiary Minerals plc 'the Group' or 'the Company' Final Results for the year ended 30 September 2002 Tertiary Minerals plc - Chairman's Statement - Year ended 30th September 2002 I have great pleasure in presenting the Group's final results for the year ended 30 September 2002. The loss associated with the Group's exploration activities for the year ended 30 September 2002 was £273,222 after interest of £9,604, administration expenses of £266,903 and £15,923 written off for expenditure on abandoned exploration projects. This year the Company has made significant progress in its ambitions to become a producer of tantalum with the acquisition, in January, of the Ghurayyah tantalum deposit in Saudi Arabia, reportedly the largest single accumulation of tantalum in the world. Ghurayyah contains an estimated Inferred Mineral Resource of over 380 million tonnes of tantalum, niobium and rare-earth element mineralisation to a depth of 250m with the probability that substantial additional tonnages of mineralisation occur below this depth. The Company has moved quickly to evaluate Ghurayyah and has now completed resource assessment work and a metallurgical development and testwork programme. Metallurgical testwork has been successful in defining an extraction and concentration process to recover tantalum, niobium and the rare-earth elements from Ghurayyah using industry standard techniques. Testwork results represent a 10-fold improvement in concentrate grade over previous results. An economic and technical scoping study has now been commissioned to examine the capital and operating costs for development of Ghurayyah. The deposit is uniformly mineralised and should be cheap to mine by open-pit methods and could have a mine-life of several decades. We are pleased that the development potential of the Ghurayyah project has been recognised by British Offset, a joint initiative of the British Ministry of Defence and BAE Systems, which is currently providing financial and other assistance to the project. It is appropriate in 2002, on the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the metal tantalum, that Tertiary is also exploring and evaluating a tantalum deposit in the very place that tantalum was first discovered by Anders Ekberg in 1802 - at Rosendal in Finland. During the year baseline environmental studies were completed and a preliminary feasibility study initiated on the main pegmatite dyke. Exploration work beyond this main dyke has found several other tantalum bearing pegmatites within the Company's claims. The Company has continued to progress exploration of its platinum group metal and base metal projects with drill targets defined on a number of projects. The project portfolio has also been expanded with a recently announced initiative to explore for iron-oxide copper-gold deposits in Finland - such deposits are amongst the most sought after in the world today and the Fennoscandinavian shield is recognised by the major exploration companies as a prime target. The Company has made a number of strategic ground acquisitions that are now under evaluation with the objective of bringing in an industry partner. Whilst your Board considers that its efforts have added value to the Company's projects, the year in review has seen continuing poor demand in the tantalum industry, a volatile and uncertain market for equities in general and increased geo-political risk in the Middle-East, all of which have contributed to a decline in the Company's share price. Despite this the company remains well positioned to take advantage of upturns in the market, and is particularly well placed to take advantage of the forecast upturn in the tantalum market in 2003. The challenge for the Company is to capitalise on the huge value locked up in Ghurayyah. The world's largest mining companies have traditionally been built on the back of single 'giant' metal deposits where large scale production can be profitably sustained over several tens of years. Your Board believes Ghurayyah has that potential and we look forward to the challenge. Patrick L. Cheetham Executive Chairman 6 December 2002 Tertiary Minerals plc Consolidated Profit and Loss Account For the year ended 30th September 2002 2002 2001 £ £ Exploration costs written off 15,923 110,240 Administrative expenses 266,903 219,220 Operating loss (282,826) (329,460) Interest receivable 9,604 24,374 Loss on ordinary activities before taxation (273,222) (305,086) Tax on profit on ordinary activities - - Loss for the financial year (273,222) (305,086) Loss per share - basic (pence) (1.1) (1.4) All amounts relate to continuing activities. Tertiary Minerals plc Balance sheets as at 30th September 2002 Group Company 2002 2001 2002 2001 £ £ £ £ Fixed assets Intangible assets 1,065,724 570,091 - - Tangible assets 9,542 13,057 865 3,393 Investments - - 224,889 224,889 1,075,266 583,148 225,754 228,282 Current assets Debtors 67,772 38,315 1,220,258 682,204 Cash at bank and in hand 393,760 293,735 382,401 283,156 461,532 332,050 1,602,659 965,360 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 111,623 63,453 26,064 22,374 Net current assets 349,909 268,597 1,576,595 942,986 Total assets less current liabilities 1,425,175 851,745 1,802,349 1,171,268 Capital and reserves Called up share capital 276,652 219,946 276,652 219,946 Share premium accounts 1,766,836 998,380 1,766,836 998,380 Merger reserve 131,096 131,096 131,096 131,096 Profit and loss account (749,409) (497,677) (372,235) (178,154) Shareholders funds 1,425,175 851,745 1,802,349 1,171,268 Tertiary Minerals plc Consolidated Cash Flow Statement For the year ended 30th September 2002 2002 2001 £ £ Net cash outflow from operating activities (248,495) (220,172) Returns on investment and servicing of finance Interest received 9,604 24,374 Net cash inflow from returns on investments and servicing 9,604 24,374 of finance Capital expenditure and financial investment Purchase of intangible fixed assets (486,399) (342,116) Purchase of tangible fixed assets (4,802) (12,017) Sale of tangible fixed assets 2,702 - Net cash outflow from capital expenditure and financial (488,499) (354,133) investment Financing Issue of share capital (net of expenses) 825,162 90,700 Exchange differences 2,253 (3,777) Net cash inflow from financing 827,415 86,923 Increase/(Decrease) in cash 100,025 (463,008) Notes: 1. Publication of Non-Statutory Accounts The financial information set out in this announcement does not constitute the Company's Statutory Accounts for the period ended 30 September 2002 but is derived from those accounts. Statutory Accounts will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the Company's Annual General Meeting. The auditors have reported on those accounts; their report was unqualified and did not contain a statement under section 237 of the Companies Act 1985. 2. Accounting policies The following accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items which are considered material in relation to the Company's financial statements. Basis of Preparation The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards and under the historical cost accounting rules modified to include the revaluation of certain assets. Basis of consolidation The group financial statements consolidate the financial statements of Tertiary Minerals plc and its subsidiary undertakings using the acquisition method. The results of subsidiaries acquired or sold during the year are consolidated from or to the date on which effective control passes. In accordance with section 230 (4) of the Companies Act 1985, Tertiary Minerals plc is exempt from the requirement to present its own profit and loss account. The amount of the loss for the financial year recorded within the financial statements of Tertiary Minerals plc is £194,081 (2001: £111,871). Depreciation Depreciation is provided by the Group on all tangible fixed assets, at rates calculated to write off the cost or valuation, less estimated residual value, of each asset evenly over its expected useful life, as follows: Fixtures and fittings 25% to 33% per annum. Intangible assets - exploration and development Accumulated costs incurred in relation to separate areas of interest (which may comprise more than one exploration licence or exploration licence applications) are capitalised and carried forward where: (a) such costs are expected to be recouped through successful development and exploration of the area, or alternatively by its sale; or (b) exploration and/or evaluation activities in the area have not yet reached a stage which permits a reasonable assessment of the existence or otherwise of economically recoverable reserves, and active and significant operations in, or in relation to the areas are continuing. Accumulated costs in respect of areas of interest, which have been abandoned, are written off to the profit and loss account in the year in which the area is abandoned. Costs in respect of reconnaissance exploration (where the Group has no licences or licence applications) are written off to the profit and loss account in the year in which the reconnaissance exploration took place. Exploration and development costs are carried at the lower of cost and expected net realisable value. Deferred taxation Deferred taxation is provided in full in respect of taxation deferred by timing differences between the treatment of certain items for taxation and accounting purposes. No provision for deferred taxation has been made in these accounts. Deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that they are regarded as recoverable. Foreign currencies Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated at the rate of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded at the rate ruling at the date of the transaction. All differences are taken to the profit and loss account. For consolidation purposes, the assets and liabilities and the profit and loss accounts of overseas subsidiary undertakings and associated undertakings are translated at the closing exchange rates. Exchange differences arising on these translations are taken to reserves, net of exchange differences arising on related foreign currency borrowings. Leasing and hire purchase commitments Rentals applicable to operating leases where substantially all the benefits and risks of ownership remain with the lessor are charged to the profit and loss account on a straight-line basis 3. Segmental analysis Operating loss Net assets Operating loss Net Assets 2002 2002 2001 2001 £ £ £ £ 194,081 1,577,460 111,849 946,380 United Kingdom 79,141 (152,285) 193,237 (94,635) Overseas 273,222 1,425,175 305,086 851,745 In the opinion of the directors, the Group's activities represent one class of business. A split of overseas segmental information is not considered to be meaningful by the directors. 4. Share capital 2002 2002 2001 2001 No. £ No. £ Authorised Ordinary shares of 1p each 150,000,000 1,500,000 150,000,000 1,500,000 150,000,000 1,500,000 150,000,000 1,500,000 Allotted, called up and fully paid Ordinary shares of 1p each 27,665,260 276,652 21,994,674 219,946 27,665,260 276,652 21,994,674 219,946 During the year the following share issues took place. 200,000 8 pence warrants converted to 1 penny ordinary shares for total consideration of £16,000. 735,836 10 pence warrants converted to 1 penny ordinary shares for total consideration of £73,583. 3,310,000 12 pence warrants converted to 1 penny ordinary shares for total consideration of £397,200. A placement of 1,424,750 1 penny ordinary shares for total consideration of £356,188. All shares rank pari pasu and are all 1 penny ordinary shares. Warrants are issued for nil consideration and are exercisable as disclosed in note 5. Warrants are exchangeable on a one for one basis for each ordinary share of 1 penny at the exercise price on the date of conversion. 5. Warrants granted Unexercised warrants Issue dates Exercise price Number Expiry Date 07/10/99 12p 2,450,000 6/10/02 18/11/99 12p 7,347,000 17/11/02 6. Reconciliation of operating loss to net cash outflow from operating activities 2002 2001 £ £ Operating loss (282,826) (329,460) Depreciation and loss on disposal of fixed assets 5,615 5,544 Intangible fixed assets written off 10,003 103,791 (Increase) in debtors (29,457) (23,531) Increase in creditors 48,170 23,484 Net cash outflow from operating activities (248,495) (220,172) 7. Annual Report The Company's 2002 Annual Report will be published and sent to shareholders in due course and copies will be available to the public, free of charge, from the Registered Office of the Company or from Tertiary Minerals plc, Sunrise House, Hulley Road, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 2LP for at least 30 days from the date of publication. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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