Polo Resources (LON:POL) has released its results for the year ended 30th June 2012. The Company stated that the Net Asset Value per share stood at 3.85p. Following the sale of Caledon Resources and the return of $71.5 m to shareholders through a 2p per share dividend in October 2011 the Company had focused its investment operations on oil & gas through at $27m investment in Signet Petroleum and gold through a $16.5m investment in Nimini Holdings.
The independent global resource estimate for Nimini’s Komahun project in Sierra Leone includes 521,000 gold in the indicated category and 263,000 in the inferred based on data at 20th February 2012. A further estimate will be published in Q1 2013 including the results of drilling undertaken during 2012. The Company says:
“Komahun has the potential to progress quickly from exploration to mine development stage, which represents a significant enhancement of value over the near-term”.
Polo currently holds 21.7% of Signet which has oil & gas concessions in East and West Africa and the Company believes that “it has considerable upside potential”. In the statement the Company also updates on all of its other portfolio investments.
In the outlook statement the executive co-chairmen say:
“We expect to deliver growth to Polo's NAV over the medium-term. Management continues to assess its investment portfolio and takes a cautious approach to new investments in the current market environment. The focus is on delivering value to shareholders from our current portfolio, with a particular focus on our gold and oil and gas investments.”
The shares have languished throughout much of 2012 as there has been little news to excite the market! I expect that the next 12 months will be different. In the 1st quarter of 2013 we should get upgrades to the gold resources at Nimini, followed by a pre-feasibility study in Q2. In the report the company states that it is targeting at least a one million ounce total gold reserve. Of the 3.8p per share NAV approximately 30% was in cash, receivables and short term investments. 18% of the NAV was in cash.
The shares have been disappointing, down some 23% since purchase but given my expectations that the next twelve months should see the Company make progress in realising value from its portfolio coupled with the shares sitting at a 37%…
