KUALA LUMPUR (March 7): Sumatec Resources Bhd's fourth quarter net loss narrowed by 98.7% to RM826,000 or 0.02 sen per share, from RM65.54 million or 1.58 sen per share a year ago.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Sumatec said the group did not register any revenue for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2018 (4QFY18). In 4QFY17, the group posted a revenue of RM16.85 million.

For the entire FY18, Sumatec’s net loss reduced by 95.7% to RM2.74 million, from RM63.67 million in FY17, while revenue declined by 89.7% to RM2.99 million from RM29.04 million.

Sumatec was labelled as a Practice Note 17 company on April 30 last year, after its auditors expressed a disclaimer opinion to its FY17 accounts.

The group is therefore required to formulate a regularisation plan within a 12-month period.

Sumatec said there is no major development to-date on the plan.

The group is currently essentially engaged in the management and oversight of the oil production operations at the Rakushechnoye Oil and Gas Field in Kazakhstan, and the provision of a study of an integrated natural gas monetization programme in preparation of the exploitation of the gas in the concession area.

Sumatec said the Rakushechnoye concession is a quality asset, as it is an onshore oil and gas field which requires modest capital expenditures.

“Rakushechnoye’s projected capital expenditure per well being just a fraction compared to offshore production, the production cost per barrel for our operation will be low.

“The company is now exploring several funding options to increase production at Rakushechnoye. The company expects to materialise this effort and move ahead with the proposed field development plan to increase production by the end of the year,” it said.

Sumatec’s share price was down 0.5 sen or 50% at 0.5 sen as at 3:40pm today, valuing the company at RM21.26 million.