Rift Helium widens interim loss as it prepares for Upepo drilling

Rift Helium PLC on Wednesday reported increased costs for the first six months of 2026 as it moves towards executing its flagship project in Tanzania.

The helium exploration company, focused on Tanzania, said its pretax loss widened to £2.5 million, up from £13,000 a year earlier.

The wider loss was due to increased administrative costs of £1.6 million, compared with £2,000 the year before, which included expenses related to its admission to trading on the Alternative Investment Market in April.

The company highlighted that it had raised around £8.1 million through fundraising since its listing.

Other expenses included £1.1 million in share-based payments, compared with none a year earlier.

The exploration company said the proceeds from its public listing were intended to fund exploration at its flagship Upepo project in Tanzania, where it expects to start drilling in the first half of 2027.

Upepo, in the Rukwa Basin in southwestern Tanzania, is adjacent to confirmed helium discoveries and is located within a "highly prospective basin", Rift said. The company added that it had completed its environmental impact assessment for the area and had now initiated preparations for drilling.

Rift shares closed up 0.6% at 7.29 pence on Wednesday in London.

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