Forgent reports narrowed first-half loss as lower sales hit revenue

Forgent PLC on Friday reported a narrowed first-half loss, as it continued to shift its focus towards Australian mineral exploration and away from its legacy gasification operations.

The Australian-focused critical and precious minerals explorer said pretax loss for the six months ended June 30 narrowed 4.7% to EUR2.0 million from EUR2.1 million a year earlier.

Revenue fell 69% to EUR196,821 from EUR635,984. Sales in the US fell 80% to EUR65,333 from EUR333,400, while European sales fell 57% to EUR131,488 from EUR302,584.

Administrative expenses fell to EUR1.5 million from EUR1.8 million, partially offsetting revenue losses.

During the first half of 2026, Forgent undertook a debt restructuring, converting around £1.93 million of existing debt into equity and extending the maturity of its remaining debt. In May, it raised a further £1.3 million through an equity placing.

Earlier in August, Forgent changed its primary business strategy to focus on the acquisition, exploration and development of critical and precious metals projects in Australia.

Looking ahead, Forgent said its immediate priorities were to advance exploration at Peak Hill, progress Green Rock towards drilling and complete its evaluation of Mount Sholl.

"There remains considerable work ahead of us, but Forgent today is a fundamentally different business from the company that entered 2026. Our objective for the remainder of the year is clear: maintain financial discipline, continue executing our exploration programmes and deploy capital into the opportunities we believe have the potential to materially increase the underlying value of the company for shareholders," it said.

Separately, Forgent said it had increased its interest in the Peak Hill gold-copper project in Western Australia to 99% and raised £800,000 through a placing to fund the acquisition, drilling and working capital.

An 8,700-metre Phase 2 drilling programme was due to start on Tuesday, targeting the Curley's prospect and the previously undrilled Cathedral prospect. Around 130 holes were planned over 60 days.

The programme followed encouraging gold and copper results from Phase 1, including a two-metre gold intersection grading 3.68 grammes per tonne and copper intersections grading up to 0.24%.

Shares in Forgent were down 14% at 0.0082 pence each on Friday morning in London.

Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.