Obtala Resources (LON:OBT) said it had made significant progress in simplifying its business model to become a highly focused African agricultural and forestry platform.
In a year that saw Obtala turn from being a mineral explorer to a forestry and agricultural group, sales revenue more than doubled, up 118% on last year to £3.7mln.
The group ended the year with a cash balance of £0.66mln, down from £3.27mln reported at the end of last year.
Overall the group saw a net loss of £16.8mln, up from £13.4mln at the end of 2014. Operating loss stood at £20mln, compared to £4mln, while loss after tax was £14.9mln, compared to £13.9mln.
The group said it continued to direct investment into completing the development of its agricultural and forestry platforms.
It said the benefits of this groundwork was being realised through new orders for its produce from new markets and new customers.
“To date, we have created a highly focused, multi-country African based business which provides an exciting and tangible platform for sustainable growth,” said chairman Miles Pelham.
“The valuation and expansion of the timber assets not only underpins the potential of the business but also demonstrates a great opportunity to expand our revenue potential with important initial orders received for key export markets where demand for high value timber products is strong,” he added.
“We believe that it provides the company significant sustainable growth opportunities in both the near and longer term.”
The group also expects the agribusiness to grow significantly after receiving the required food and safety certification.
Pelham said the group had significant expansion capacity, the land available to the agribusiness and timber operations provided security of supply as new products are developed and sold.
In a separate statement, the group announced that with immediate effect Paul Tiernan Dolan will join the company as chief executive. Meanwhile, Warren Edmund Deats, will join the company as chief operating officer and oversee the African operations from his base in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.