Egdon Resources

Egdon Resources expects a 'big revenue increase in the coming year' after turning £83,523 annual losses into £235,417 pre-tax profits.

Managing director Mark Abbott says the Hampshire-based company, which focuses on onshore UK and continental European projects, is looking for new acreage and potential corporate acquisitions after rising crude prices helped convert a 15% production increase to 27,056 barrels of oil from its Keddington, Avington and Kirklington deposits in England into a 42% turnover gain to £1.25m in the year to July.

AIM-quoted Egdon has 10% of the Ceres gas field, where it hopes the operator, BP, has now overcome initial infrastructure problems and will be able to hoist production from 170 to 200 barrels a day by the turn of the year, with a daily target of 500 barrels. Abbott hopes Egdon will see 300 attributable barrels of oil equivalent a day at the end of this year from its 40%-owned Kirkleatham gas field near Redcar and will seek to farm out the Audignon prospect in France with an estimated potential of nearly 900bn cubic feet of gas, where it holds 33%.

Since its July year end, Egdon has sold several of its French interests to eCorp Oil and Gas UK to £4.5m. Abbott says some of the money will go into exploration, though he is clear the company, whose current programme is now 'fully funded', is also looking to obtain new acreage and will also consider corporate acquisitions.

Analysts suggest Egdon could make £1.8m in the year to next July. With oil prices strengthening and significant production increases on the way, the shares, which have crumbled from 2004's 30p float price to 12.5p, could stage something of a rally before too long.