Georgina Energy PLC (LSE:GEX) chief financial officer Mark Wallace talked with Proactive about the company’s recent financial results delay and its strategic plans for natural gas development.
Wallace explained that the delay was due to the complex reverse takeover of Mining, Minerals & Metals PLC and the subsequent re-listing process, which involved multiple moving parts for the auditors to review.
Wallace noted that the audit process will be smoother going forward as Georgina Energy has streamlined its systems. He stressed that the delay did not impact operational activities, with engagement continuing uninterrupted with both the Department of Energy and Minerals and indigenous partners on the Hussar and Mt Winter sites.
Looking ahead, Wallace highlighted the company’s confidence in the long-term demand for natural gas as an enabler of energy transition. He said formal drilling approval for Hussar is expected soon and the Aboriginal land rights agreement for Mt Winter is close to completion. Georgina Energy is also in discussions with offtake partners, having signed one memorandum of understanding already.
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Proactive: Mark, very good to speak with you. Could you start by telling us why the results were delayed? I mean, as you can imagine, shareholders were concerned.
Mark Wallace: And quite rightly too, Stephen. At the end of the day, we did undertake a fairly complex transaction back in July 2024, where we actually undertook a reverse takeover of Mining, Minerals & Metals PLC (MMM). In conjunction with that, there was also an IPO or relisting of that company. So there were a lot of moving parts for the auditors to actually consider.
However, having said that, they did a great job. They worked with my team very well. I have to say, my thanks go out to my team. They've only been with Georgina for six months, and within that time, we had to put the accounts into a new accounting system. We had to run new processes, and they just did an incredibly great job.
I'm very proud of my team. PKF is a very reputable company, good auditors again. They worked with my team very, very well. In the end, although the accounts did come out four weeks later than what we had anticipated, we got them out and they were correct.
Of course, moving forwards, the most important thing is to make sure that those accounts do come out within a timely manner.
Proactive: I was going to ask that. Mark, will things be fine going forward?
Mark Wallace: Yes, they will be. Basically, the audit was the first audit also that PKF had undertaken with Georgina and MMM for that matter. We’ve taken an enormous amount of steps to streamline our processes to ensure that things are done again in a very timely manner.
Proactive: Mark, did the delay to the results impact any of Georgina's current operational processes?
Mark Wallace: Stephen, no, not at all. During the four-week hiatus that we endured, there was obviously some concern, and quite rightly too, but we had constant engagement with the Department of Energy and Minerals throughout the entire process. Due to our shared cooperation, the suspension of the Georgina share price really had no effect on our dealings.
Also, the consultants we use and our indigenous partners that we engage with on both our sites at Hussar and Mt Winter were advised of the suspension, and there were absolutely no issues on site whatsoever.
Proactive: Mark, what do investors have to look forward to?
Mark Wallace: We remain extremely confident in the long-term demand for natural gas, particularly as an enabler of the energy transition that the globe is going through in both the domestic and regional markets. We have to recall that Australia is undergoing a shortage of gas, and the government is doing as much as it possibly can to incentivize companies to produce gas, helium, hydrogen for the domestic market.
It's important to note that approximately 80% of natural gas is actually exported from Australia, so it creates an artificially inflated price in the domestic market. Having said that, our asset portfolio is strategically located in a region with supporting infrastructure and growing demand because of what's happening in the domestic market.
We offer a very strong potential pathway to commercialization. I’m certainly very excited about our progress on Hussar and Mt Winter. We feel very confident that we can deliver on the workstreams that we've undertaken for shareholders at the moment.
We’ve got formal drilling approval for Hussar expected within a couple of weeks, as we’ve lodged most of the documents with the Department of Minerals and Energy. We expect the Aboriginal land rights agreement to be signed off for Mt Winter imminently.
We continue discussions with potential offtake partners. We already have a memorandum of understanding with one offtake partner, and we continue to progress and remain open to strategic partnerships that can accelerate our path to development while managing our risk and capital exposure.
The CEO, Tony Hamilton, will be doing another interview tomorrow, and he can probably talk more on the operational side of things.
I just thank all our stakeholders, including shareholders, for the patience that they've had over the last couple of months. Hopefully, our share price will have a positive effect.
Proactive: Thank you very much for the updates. I hope you'll continue to keep us posted on progress.