Rex International swings into the black for Q3

REX International is in the black for the third quarter with a US$582,000 net profit, compared with a US$1.6 million net loss a year ago, following the completion of a US$2 million sale in licences to a third party.

For the three months ended Sept 30, earnings per share was 0.05 US cent versus a loss per share of 0.13 US cent.

Its revenue, consisting solely of service revenue, was up 45 per cent to US$135,000 from US$93,000 after Rex Technology Management provided technical services to clients.

No dividend was declared as the firm had just turned profitable. It did not declare a dividend for the year-ago period.

Other income rose to US$2.5 million from US$20,000 mainly due to Rex's gain from the sale in licences to a third party, and a gain in the fair value of quoted investments as a result of better performance in the bond market.

Cash and cash equivalents stood at US$41.4 million as at Sept 30, 2019, versus US$5.3 million as at Dec 31, 2018.

"Having monetised the Rolvsnes discovery and related assets in Norway in the first quarter, and farmed in and participated in the drilling on PL838 in the Norwegian Sea, which yielded an oil and gas discovery in the third quarter, the group will focus its efforts on drilling an appraisal well in Oman in end-2019 and achieving oil production in Q1 2020," said Rex.

Dan Brostrom, executive chairman of Rex, said: "The group remains long-term debt free. This, coupled with our recharged war chest following the monetisation of interests in certain assets in Norway, put us in good stead to progress our plans in Norway and Oman."

Its shares closed up S$0.004 or 2.1 per cent to S$0.193 on Wednesday.