Impairment charges sink Jasper into a sea of red for Q2

Singapore

OIL and gas-related Jasper Investments reported on Tuesday a staggering net loss of US$255.04 million for the fiscal second quarter ended Sept 30, 2014, compared to a net profit of US$1.36 million a year ago. Net loss per share was 6.033 US cents, compared to earnings per share of 0.032 US cent a year ago.

The group was hit by the multiple whammy of not being able to deploy its drillship Jasper Explorer amid very challenging market conditions, failure to take delivery of its newbuild Jasper Cosmopolitan and a potential default situation on its bonds. No revenue was generated during the quarter due to the unemployment of Jasper Explorer, compared to US$23.59 million a year ago when it was deployed in the offshore Republic of Congo.