Argo Blockchain maintains revenue levels amid harder mining conditions

Cryptocurrency miner Argo Blockchain updated the market on its operations in April on Tuesday, saying it mined 319.2 Bitcoin or Bitcoin equivalent (BTC) during the month, down from 333.8 BTC in March.

The London-listed firm said that took the total amount mined in the first four months of the year to 1,237 BTC, making for a record level for the company and a 122% increase over the prior four months.

Based on daily foreign exchange rates and cryptocurrency prices during April, mining revenue in April totalled £1.8m, in line with March.

Argo said it generated that income at a mining margin of 39%, down from 42%, with the board saying mining conditions were slightly harder in April, as algorithmic difficulty increased twice in the month.

The group confirmed that 1,000 ‘Bitmain Antminer S17+’ machines, ordered and announced previously, had been installed and were in production this week.

Their arrival brought total mining capacity to about 18,000 machines and 730 petahash, which is a 244% increase in hashpower from the end of last year.

Argo also announced on Tuesday that Timothy Le Druillenec was stepping down as chief financial officer to become a non-executive director, with immediate effect.

He was succeeded by James Savage, who would take over as finance director, and is based in London.

The board said Savage is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, and would bring seven years of private practice experience in auditing and corporate finance across capital markets in the UK, US and Canada.

He has held roles managing audits of large multinational groups and carried out valuations for investment funds, and specialises in financial reporting, business analysis and financial modelling.

“I would like to thank Timothy for his invaluable contribution to Argo's rapid advance from start-up and London stock market listing to its current position as a leading UK based crypto miner,” said chief executive officer Peter Wall.

“I would also like to welcome James, who brings strong financial reporting experience and look forward to working with him to take Argo to the next level.”

At 1523 BST, shares in Argo Blockchain were down 10.27% at 4.98p.