Corre Energy shares slumped on Thursday, as its interim chairman resigned after less than two months, and the embattled company holds talks with big shareholders for short term working capital.
Rune Eng is stepping down from the board as of Thursday to pursue “other personal and professional interests,” Corre said in a statement. Eng’s resignation means the only member of the company’s board is chief executive Keith McGrane.
While Eng had been on the board since 2021, he had only been named interim chairman in June.
Corre Energy shares fell 11 per cent in afternoon trading in Dublin to a fresh low of 12c. The company’s share price has halved in a week, leaving it with a market capitalisation of €10.5 million. The stock is down 94 per cent over the last year.
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“We had previously anticipated that Eng would remain as interim chair through to at least the completion of the company’s strategic investment process, when a broader board re-composition would be considered,” Davy analysts Michael Mitchell and Kate Nurse said in a research note.
Eng “has been instrumental in overseeing the company’s initial phase of growth, including the delivery of key commercial milestones and fund-raising activities,” Corre said. It “is working diligently to address the appointment of an interim chair who will be proposed to shareholders as soon as possible.”
Separately, Corre is “engaging with significant shareholders in relation to potential funding of short term working capital requirements ahead of this strategic investment process and long-term fund raise being concluded,” it said. “Whilst the company’s shareholders have consistently supported the company’s working capital needs there can be no certainty that sufficient working capital will be secured,” it added.
The company had hired investment bank Rothschild to to secure new funding. That process is continuing, with an update expected next month, Corre said.
Corre’s struggles accelerated in recent days, after it said its Dutch parent group has pledged more than 15 per cent of the Irish company’s shares as collateral for loans earlier this week.
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