News starting to flow on the sick state of Molopo...
Investors baulk at Wild West adventure TIM BOREHAM From: The Australian November 23, 2012 12:00AM
GREG Lewin, the North America-focused chairman of Molopo Energy, is "perplexed and very frustrated" by Molopo's sagging share price.
Indeed, the deep-pocketed rebels who took over Molopo's board in February last year have struggled to capture investor hearts. This is despite offering an entree into the Texan shale story, which is just as sexy as Jerry Hall and, unlike the leggy model, only just maturing.
At the time of the coup, the shares traded at 90c, and even that was considered sickly. At yesterday's AGM, management reported cash of $70 million, or 28c a share. That leaves $27m of market cap to cover acreages in the Wolfcamp (Texas) and Bakken (Canadian) plays, with current output of about 400 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Criterion's last spec buy call on the stock -- 63.5c in February -- proved sadly unrequited, but we'll stay on board ahead of a possible North American listing.