Wed 15 Jun 2011 10:01

Baltic Oil shares suspended, accounts 'destroyed or removed'


Terminal operator says an attempt was made to replace financial records with falsified information.



The board of Baltic Oil Terminals Plc has today announced the suspension of trading in its ordinary shares on AIM - the London Stock Exchange’s international market for smaller growing companies - as it has now become clear that the company will not be in a position to send its audited accounts for the year ended 31 December 2010 to shareholders by 30 June 2011 as required under AIM Rule 19.

The suspension, which commenced at 7.30a.m. today, will remain in place until the group's annual accounts have been announced and posted to shareholders.

Commenting on its operations, Baltic Oil Terminals said its businesses were performing 'in line with management's expectations'.

"The company's operation in Rotterdam is 100 per cent let and generating significant cash returns. As at 13 June 2011, the group had GBP 1.875 million in cash and, apart from normal trade creditors, has no bank or other debt arrangements. The group's financial position remains robust and its operations continue to generate cash in line with management expectations," the company said in a statement.

In early 2011 the company made significant changes to the senior management team at its operations in Kaliningrad, Russia, which included the dismissal of a senior employee. Following these changes Baltic Oil Terminals says it became clear that some of the local financial records had either been destroyed or removed and an attempt made at replacing these with falsified information.

"The directors do not believe that these actions have led to any previous financial information reported to the market proving erroneous, however, the company has had to conduct an exercise to reconstruct the accounting records at its operations in Kaliningrad based on primary sources of information, in particular the receipts of inventory received into the terminals," Baltic Oil Terminals said.

The board of directors had expected that this process would have been completed by now. However, they are now of the view that this process, and hence Grant Thornton's audit of the Annual Accounts, will now not be completed by 30 June 2011.

"Following receipt of the initial results of the reconstruction of these accounting records, the directors remain of the view that the results for the year ended 31 December 2010 will be in line with market expectations. It is believed that the trading performance and financial position of the operations in Russia are not matters of uncertainty; rather it is the detail of the books and records and their current ability to be audited that is the issue," Baltic Oil Terminals said.

A further announcement on the matter is expected to made in due course.


Marcus Møller, Bunker Trader at Malik Supply. Malik Supply promotes trainee to bunker trader role  

Marcus Møller completes internal training programme.

Orchid Leader dual-fuel car carrier at Fuzhou Port. Ship deployed for new Middle East route is largest dual-fuel car carrier to berth at Fuzhou  

New service cuts logistics time by 50% for Chinese auto exports to Middle East.

Naming ceremony of CMA CGM Helium. CMA CGM names dual-fuel methanol vessel for Asia-Mediterranean service  

The CMA CGM Helium has been deployed on the Phoenician Express route connecting multiple regions.

NYK Line logo. Tug becomes world's first ammonia-fuelled vessel to receive environmental credit certification  

Third-party validation enables Book & Claim allocation to help reduce customers' Scope 3 emissions.

CMA CGM LNG-powered containership illustration. CMA CGM signs letter of intent for six LNG-powered containerships from Indian shipyard  

French shipping group becomes first international carrier to order LNG vessels from India.

LNG carrier Coral Energy. Klaipėda LNG terminal completes Baltic's first virtual biomethane liquefaction  

Operation involved bio-LNG being loaded onto gas carrier with virtual biomethane liquefaction at terminal.

OCI Global and Victrol MoU signing. OCI Global and Victrol partner to develop ammonia bunkering supply chain in Netherlands and Belgium  

Companies sign MoU to create end-to-end clean ammonia fuel infrastructure across Benelux ports.

Container ship UNI-ASSURE Panama. Green fuel producers urge IMO to adopt Net-Zero Framework with e-fuel incentives  

Twenty companies call for policy certainty ahead of extraordinary IMO session this week.

Illustration of eMethanol Production Process by Liquid Wind. Swedish funding secured for e-methanol plant pre-engineering  

Swedish Energy Agency backs Örnsköldsvik e-fuel facility through green transition programme.

Render of Petroineos’ new bunker vessel for southern France. Petroineos orders two new bunker vessels for southern France operations  

Vessels will handle conventional and low-carbon fuels, including biofuels and e-methanol, from 2028.





 Recommended