Thursday 14 June 2012

Trading Update June 2012


Gloom, gloom and more gloom - and that's just the weather.

Oh dear, this was not the time to be long shares with the Euro crisis at its zenith (well, its current zenith). Sticking to my strategy of holding whilst waiting for the event driven shares to meet their events has been a paper disaster.

However, a quick review of where the various investments are:

AST - Finally, progress is being made with Ascent Resources. With huge reserves proved up and some money in the bank to start production the company is off. Sadly, with credit so tight it is going to be a slow slog to fund more gas production from meagre revenues. Hopefully a buyout will happen. The largest onshore gas field is Europe will be a nice morsel for some business, probably at a firesale price too.

IAE - Bought here waiting for an offer that the Company turned down, should have sold on the loss, did not and now this is drifting down with the market. At £250 million valuation for a company pumping 20k barrels of oil a day, this is badly out of kilter and will come back, as will the buyers of such safe North Sea assets.

GKP - A terrible run since the takeover rumours, 60% down from its high, still though finding more oil than it can do anything with, now starting to pump significant amounts. Needs an Iraqi oil law and that is someway away yet. Worth well over £5 on takeover.

EMED - Sigh, 4 years and counting for permitting. Slowly edging there for Q3. Share price tanking in the meantime.

XEL - Xcite the most frustrating, drilling completing financing all agreed, placing done for the last piece, BP as off take partner. All in place to start developing a large North Sea field....yet the price falls with the market. NPE sale this week if applied to XEL would value the business at £3.85...the share price is dropping below 80p.

Overall down now 15% on the year, having been ahead 80% at one point. These AIM shares are a little volatile.

7 comments:

phil5 said...

Hmm a tale of woe-ish, Mr Slicker.

So it might be an idea to double-down on my £5k in XEL - currently long at £1.13 - do you reckon?

Richard Elliot said...

I'm having an atrocious year too.

My only lucky break (it was luck with very little judgement) was to turn my Aussie pension into cash having ridden the start of the year rises, but before the current Euro crisi bit again.

CityUnslicker said...

Phil - we'll knwo next week if it is to be armageddon or not. if it is then a 2009 type scenario with rock bottom prices and multi-bagging will be available - but not for a few weeks.

I am not putting any more money into such volatility myself at the moment.

phil5 said...

Yeah, thanks Mr Slicker, I suspected I was being a little over eager.

Timbo614 said...

Hold for ever now CU ... You know what happens if you lose your nerve :)

[I told ya so!] I put the cash into a new business :( and Internet businesses are all about cash up front, sit back watch orders roll in!

Currently I am at the stage of "All the cash is up front" :( :(

Budgie said...

Commiserations, CU. I am in the same boat. Even my SIPP is tanking.

Phil said...

A "little" volatile is about right :)

Still, if you wanted boredom, you could have bought gilts.

@Timbo Best of luck with the net business.