Legal fees impact half-yearly results at Churchill Mining

Legal and professional fees impacted the financial results of AIM-listed Churchill Mining in the six months ended December 31st, but the company was able to narrow its loss on the year before.

Churchill Mining posted a pre-tax loss for the half year of $4.5m, or 3.69c per ordinary share. Other administrative expenses totalled $3.1m. The firm registered a loss of $6.4m in the first half of the year before.

Significant expenditure items during the period included legal and professional fees of $1.18m reflecting expenditure for the company's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes' (ICSID) claim against the Republic of Indonesia and a dispute with Ridlatama Group.

Public relations, government and media outreach costs were recorded at $0.5m to assist in highlighting Churchill's position and claims against the Republic of India.

Consulting, directors and professional fees amounted to $0.9m and an impairment to the value of the investment in Spitfire Resources was recorded at $1.5m.

Churchill Mining reported that the balance of operating expenditure was a result of the company's current operations which include management resources allocated to the current ICSID claim against the Republic of Indonesia.

As of December 31st 2012, the company had net assets of $11.4m, compared to $15.3m on June 30th and $19.6m on December 31st 2011.

The company started the half-year with $12m in cash and said it remained well funded with cash at bank of $6.2m on March 22nd to pursue the ICSID arbitration, other legal steps and any subsequent action to restore value for shareholders.

Compensation campaign for coal project in IndonesiaThe company reported that its campaign to secure compensation for the expropriation of its East Kutai Coal Project in Indonesia continued, adding that it would soon reach "an important milestone".

It said that following the commencement of arbitration against the Republic of Indonesia at the ICSID in May 2012, Churchill's Australian subsidiary Planet Mining Pty Ltd (Planet), which via its 5% shareholding in PT Indonesia Coal Development also holds an interest in the East Kutai Coal Project, has now also filed for arbitration at ICSID against the Republic of Indonesia pursuant to the Australia-Indonesia Bilateral Investment Treaty.

The firm said the Churchill and Planet arbitrations had been consolidated into a single proceeding and would be dealt with and heard together.

"Churchill and Planet have engaged and are now represented in the ICSID arbitration by the international law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan," the company said.

Churchill Mining's share price was down 1.19% to 10.38p at 10:28 on Friday.

MF