Echo Energy's 'transformational year' results in broadly flat losses

Echo's net loss widened 2.1% to £7.41m in its most recent trading year, principally due to £5.3m worth of administrative expenses as a result of the group's attempts at growing its LATAM business and £1.7m of financing expenses.

Separately, Echo's Tunisian licence expired on 7 August 2017 and was fully impaired at £500,000.

Echo made no sales or revenues in 2017, just as in 2016, and held a cash balance of £19.7m at the end of its trading year.

At the group's board and senior management level, there were a series of changes throughout the year, something which chief executive Fiona MacAulay said had "materially strengthened the company's technical and operational capabilities in the region".

Non-executive directors James Parsons, Marco Fumagalli and Steve Whyte were all appointed to the board throughout the year, as was MacAuley herself.

MacAuley said, "2017 was a transformational year for the company."

"In a relatively short space of time your company has come to be viewed as one of the premier independent explorers in the region and this reputation among state oil companies and in-country majors has provided access to world-class acreage in both Bolivia and Argentina. We have since focused on the rapid technical development and de-risking of our portfolio to achieve drill readiness," she told investors on Monday.

Echo's loss per share narrowed to 2.7p from the 3.8p posted a year earlier.

As of 1020 BST, shares had picked up 2.66% to 15.45p.