Urals Energy shares plummet as losses widen on rouble, FX volatility

19th Jun 2015 15:03

Shares in Urals Energy tanked on Friday after the Russia-focused oil group reported a substantial widening of losses on the back of a massive $17.7m hit from adverse currency movements.The company said pre-tax losses increased to $16.1m in 2014 compared with $0.4m in 2013.Urals' interim chief executive Leonid Dyachenko said 2014 was a "challenging year", driven by low oil prices and volatility on the Russian FX markets.Gross revenues totalled $58.2m, down from $64.8m previously, on the back of lower production and lower average oil prices which fell to $98 from $109.At the same time, the Russian double depreciated by 21% against the US dollar."The company has weathered extremely testing trading and corporate factors during 2013 and 2014," Dyachenko said."The board is confident that having done so, we can take advantage of our relative financial strength and the support of our shareholders to develop our own reserves and conclude acquisitions as the general environment improves."The stock was down 27.2% at 3.37p by 15:24.