Fri 30 Sep 2011, 09:38 GMT

Baltic Oil to publish accounts 'shortly'


Suspension of trading in ordinary shares could soon be lifted following 'falsified information' claim earlier this year.



Baltic Oil Terminals Plc has confirmed that the accounting records for its Kaliningrad operation in respect of the twelve months to 31st December 2010 have now been completed and are being put into final form by a third party accounting firm prior to the group audit.

The news follows the suspension of trading in its ordinary shares on AIM - the London Stock Exchange’s international market for smaller growing companies - after it became clear that the company would not be in a position to send its audited accounts for the year ended 31st December 2010 to shareholders by 30 June 2011 as required under AIM Rule 19.

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 claimed that '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.

Commenting on the Kaliningrad issue in June, Baltic Oil Terminals said: "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."

As a result, trading in shares of Baltic Oil Terminals was suspended on June 15th 2011 at 7.30a.m. and have remained in place pending the release of the group's annual accounts and interim results to shareholders.

"The company therefore now expects shortly to be in a position to publish its audited accounts for the year ended 31st December 2010. At the same time the company expects to announce its interim results for the six months ended 30th June 2011," Baltic Oil Terminals said today in a statement.

"The directors remain of the view that the results for the year ended 31st December 2010 will be in line with market expectations and confirm that the company's businesses continue to perform in line with management's expectations," the company added..

Baltic Oil Terminals operates and leases terminals and tank capacity in Kaliningrad and Rotterdam. In December 2010, the company entered into an agreement for the acquisition of Petroval Bunker International B.V., a fuel oil storage and bunker supply business based in Rotterdam, from Petroval Pte. Ltd. for US$10.8 million in cash..

Petroval operates two heated fuel oil tanks with a total capacity of 120,000 cubic metres, in Europoort Rotterdam, which it leases from Vopak. The current leases expire in April 2014.


Molgas Energy logo. Molgas completes acquisition of Prima LNG’s Irish business  

Molgas takes over Prima LNG’s Irish customer portfolio, including a Mondelez manufacturing site, as part of its expansion.

Levante LNG vessel. Peninsula marks three years of LNG bunkering with Levante LNG  

Bunker supplier reports zero claims and CO₂e cuts as LNG bunker vessel completes three years of operations.

Sea Leader FZCO logo. Sea Leader begins physical bunker supply operations in eastern India  

Company completes first bunker delivery after registering with India's shipping authority.

Wega and Deneb vessels render. Auramarine to supply methanol fuel systems for German hydrographic research vessels  

Finnish firm signs deal with Gondan Shipbuilders to equip two new vessels for Germany's maritime agency.

Mitsui-Everllence B&W 6S50ME engine render. Mitsui E&S secures first order for dual-fuel engines from Indian shipyard  

Six LNG-fuelled engines will power chemical tankers built by Swan Defence and Heavy Industries in Gujarat, India.

Jamaica bunkering hub study presentation. Study maps route for Jamaica to become regional hub for alternative marine fuels  

Research identifies Jamaica's location, port traffic and existing LNG infrastructure as foundations for a regional alternative marine fuels hub.

A2B Progress vessel. A2B-online orders two more methanol-fuelled vessels for shortsea network  

Dutch shortsea operator expands newbuild series to four ships, adding methanol propulsion and battery capacity for emission-free port calls.

Höegh Autoliners and BYD Energy Storage cooperation agreement signing. Höegh Autoliners signs battery deal with BYD for ammonia-ready car carrier  

Ro-ro shipper teams up with BYD Energy Storage to combine batteries, solar power and ammonia-ready propulsion on a single car carrier.

Hercules Angelica vessel. Hercules Tanker Management adds new Ultra-Spec tanker to fleet with FAME cargo run  

Hercules Angelica begins maiden voyage carrying FAME from Malaysia to the UK/ARA region.

SHI and Morimura sign MoU. Samsung Heavy Industries and Japan's Morimura to jointly develop solid oxide fuel cells for ships  

Companies target 2028 commercialisation of SOFC technology for merchant vessels and floating data centres.