Altona reduces H1 loss, updates on PELA 666 application in South Australia

Shares in Altona are up more than 4% after reducing its first-half loss and also confirming its application for a petroleum exploration licence (PELA 666) is under consideration by the South Australian Government.

"The board of Altona, along with its JV Partners remain confident that once the PEL is secured the JV Company will commence its test drilling programme at the Arckaringa site, which will in turn lead to a Bankable Feasibility Study," said Altona.

It added the South Australian region was in an economic downturn and regularly experienced power shortages, suggesting a "significant asset such as Arckaringa would be given high priority by the government in order to provide a large number of new jobs for the lifetime of the project and to provide a long-term energy supply for the region."

Alton further noted that the fact remained Altona controlled 7.8bn tonnes of coal and this gave the company a number of options for the future.

The AIM-listed company's first-half pre-tax profit was £241,000, from a loss of £356,00.

At 11:07 GMT, shares in Altona were up 4.17% to 0.62p each.