The stock of Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. (TSE:PTQ), (OTC:PTQMF) continues its negative move on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). The decline started five sessions ago – since then the shares have dropped 18% down. What is maybe of greater importance: PTQ slipped below the $1 mark.
The fall of the shares began shortly after the company released its financial statements for the quarter ended Feb. 28, 2011. They show both positive and negative trends. The “good” figures in the reports:- In the mentioned quarter, metal sales revenue jumped to $19.2M, or by more than 68% over the relevant period in 2010;
- Petaquilla recorded a net income of $2.1M compared to a loss of $5.6M for the corresponding period in 2010;
- In the end of February, the company had $6.2M in cash.
Unfortunately, the financials contain quite a few “bad” figures too:
- As at Feb. 28, 2011, Petaquilla reported over $26.3M of current liabilities and a working capital deficiency of almost $24M;
- There is a $9.33M net loss, or 0.07 per share, for the nine months ended Feb. 28, 2011. Up to this date, the company had accumulated a deficit of $156M from its operating activities.
In view of this, some might doubt how Petaquilla will continue the further development of its Molejon Gold project without raising additional funds in the near future.
On the other hand, there are other favorable developments that could support a possible rise of the shares too. The company obviously enjoys positive attitude from the Panamanian authorities. In early April, Molejon was visited by the president and the Vice-president of Panama, who were intrigued to observe the production of gold at the deposit.
Petiquilla was also honored to receive an invitation to join Panamanian Association of Exporters (APEX); the company’s officials see this as a recognition of Petaquilla’s contribution to the growth of the Panamanian economy.
