Petropavlovsk FY profits slip despite sharp revenue growth

Russian oil and gas explorer Petropavlovsk posted a slight drop in full-year profits on Wednesday as a result of increased one-off expenses throughout 2019.

Net profits for the year ended 31 December fell 0.8% to $25.7m despite the group also booking a 48% surge in revenues to $741.6m. Underlying earnings were up 45% to $264.8m.

Petropavlovsk said on Wednesday that revenues were lifted by increased production levels and gold prices, but noted that the fall in profits was a result of higher impairment reversals in 2018, reduced interest capitalisation and an impairment charge against its holdings in IRC.

Net debt dipped 1% to $561.3m, while cash generated from operations slid 43% to $189.3m.

As far as 2020 was concerned, the FTSE 250-listed firm said it was on track to meet its full-year output target of 620,000-720,000 ounces of gold after having recorded a first-quarter production of 186,200 ounces.

Chief executive Pavel Maslovskiy said: "In 2019 Petropavlovsk made significant steps towards its strategic goals of becoming one of the leading gold producers in Russia and creating shareholder value through modern proven technologies based on our industry-leading research and development capabilities."

As of 0830 BST, Petropavlovsk shares were down 4.92% at 23.91p.