ur opinion on the current state of REN

Renergen (REN) describes itself as an "...integrated alternative energy business" which invests in renewable energy projects in Africa. The company listed on the JSE in June 2015 and has been losing money every year since. This is reflected in its falling share price. The company is investing in liquified natural gas (LNG) and helium. Now it is planning to list on the Australian Stock Exchange - where it says its business will be better understood than on the JSE. The R125m rights issue was fully underwritten and enabled it to access a R218m loan facility. Its initial public offer (IPO) on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) was more than two times over-subscribed. It claims to have proven helium reserves of over 6bn cubic feet. On 18th May 2018, the US government identified helium as critical to national security causing the price to rise by 135%. On 10th December 2020, the company announced the development of an aluminium case which can keep vaccines cold for up to 30 days. This could be a game changer for the company. On 21st June 2021 the company announced a helium discovery at Evander with a concentration of 1,1%. On 9th March 2021, the company announced a significant gas strike in the Karoo and then on 12th April 2021 it announced that it had concluded its first deal to sell helium. In an announcement on 3rd November 2021 the company announced a 620% increase in 1P helium reserves - which caused the share to spike upwards. In its results for the year to 28th February 2023 the company reported revenue up 381% and a headline loss of 19,89c compared with a loss of 27,73c in the previous period. The company said, "Renergen, through its wholly owned subsidiary Tetra4 Proprietary Limited (“Tetra4”), commenced production of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) in September 2022 and successfully produced liquefied helium (“LHe”) in January 2023". In a quarterly report for the 3 months to 30th June 2023 the company reported an 88% increase in LNG production over the first quarter. The company said, "Two new wells spudded and showed signs of gas prior to reaching the target depth of 650 meters". The announcement of the first production of liquid helium from its Virginia gas project caused the share to rise by just over 9% - however, it remains in a long term downward trend. On 7th June 2023 the company announced that it had received $750m in further funding from Standard Bank and the International Development Finance Corporation for its Virginia Gas project. In a quarterly update on 26th June 2023 the company said, "US DFC approved US$ 500 million loan for Phase 2. New well Morpheus drilled, producing 3.2% helium and flow of 70,000 standard cubic feet per day". In a trading statement for the six months to 31st August 2023 the company estimated that it would make a headline loss of between 28,9c and 30,9c compared with a loss of 19,31c in the previous period. The share may be a speculative opportunity, but it is risky. We advise waiting for the share price to break up through its long-term downward trendline before buying.