Ambrian Capital, the natural resources investment bank, appears to be weathering the dearth of IPO listings and secondary financings in the natural resources sector better than most. The corporate finance, brokering and commodities trading house announced respectable results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2008, all things considered.
Commodities’ trading was by far the saviour of the company’s performance in 2008, posting £6.39 in revenues compared to £2.53 million a year earlier. Corporate finance and equities revenues slumped to just £3.25 million from £8.1 million a year earlier. Overall, group operating revenues declined 9.3% to £9.64 million, net asset value per share plunged 30% to 31.6 pence, and the company posted a loss per share of 11.78 pence (2007: earnings per share 4.32 pence). Perhaps most crucial of all, Ambrian ended the year with cash resources of £22.56 million.
Shares in Ambrian Capital were up slightly on the results.
“Despite the challenging market conditions, Ambrian has had a strong start to 2009.
Operating revenue in the first two months is up 70% over the same period last year with most of the growth coming from our Commodities business. Although our outlook for the rest of the year is cautious, these figures are encouraging,” said Tom Gaffney, Chief Executive of Ambrian Capital. “This is a time of opportunity for Ambrian. We have the cash resources and the team that will enable us to take advantage of the continuing uncertainty in the markets.”