Broadbeach Waters company Icon Energy announces no progress on gas exploration, again, as staff costs keep mounting

A listed resources company based in Broadbeach spent five times as much on staff in the March quarter than it did on exploration and evaluation, its latest results reveal.

Icon Energy shareholders have waited a long time for a return on their investment.

LISTED Broadbeach resources explorer Icon Energy spent five times as much on staff in the March quarter than it did on exploration and evaluation, its latest results reveal.

For three years, the company has told shareholders “discussions” were continuing with potential investment partners for its gas tenements in Queensland.

However, investors are yet to see anything beyond general discussion, as the company continues to run a loss year after year for at least five years.

The company logged a full-year loss of $4.037 million in 2017-18.

For the three months to March 31 this year, Icon spent $584,000 on staff and $108,000 on exploration and evaluation.

Icon estimates it will spend another $1.05 million on staff and administration in the next quarter, and $100,000 on exploration and evaluation.

Mr Ray James, Icon Energy managing director at his Broadbeach office. Picture Mike Batterham

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It has spent $1.7 million on staff in the first nine months of the financial year and holds $9.78 million in cash and equivalents, compared to $10.275 for the same time last year.

The company’s cash reserves were boosted in 2018 when it sold its waterfront offices for $7.1 million.

As well as apparently being no closer to pumping a single unit of gas or oil in Queensland, Icon also remains hamstrung on its holdings in Victoria, where that State Government has enacted a moratorium on fracking.

Despite the lack of profit or progress, Icon 87.26 per cent of shareholders approved its remuneration report, granting chairman Ray James annual salary and fees totalling $649,022, chief financial officer Kevin Jih $500,083; and exploration manager Martin Berry $357,147.

Mr James is the company’s third largest shareholder, with about 4.2 per cent.

Shares in Icon Energy closed at 1.8c.