D1 Oils, announcing a narrowing in full year losses, has given 18 months' notice of yet another capital raise, and revealed a string of measures aimed at improving the chances of investors stumping up once more.

Ben Good, the group's chief executive, revealing that cash reserves had dwindled to £11.3m, admitted that the jatropha group had "arguably concentrated too much on growth and not enough on operational delivery".

The group's £33.6m loss for 2008 was, while a 27% improvement year on year, its sixth successive annual loss.

Without new cash "there would be significant doubt about the group's capability, in its current form, to continue as a going concern", Mr Good said.

'Significant improvement'

But the group, which has already raised cash at its flotation in London in 2004 and in three subsequent placings, said it had learned from a separate - and unsuccessful – quest for funds for D1-BP Fuel Crops, its joint venture with BP, earlier this year.

The latest fund-raising had foundered on a demanding plan, in both money and time terms and a "perception of risk", besides the credit crunch, Mr Good said.

He added that by the end of 2010 "there will have been a significant improvement in the conditions necessary to attract new capital into the business".

These included sprucing up D1 itself through raising sales of jatropha oil – a biofuels feedstock – improving the quality of plants, selling on its expertise and developing processes to convert byproducts into animal feed.

"Our planting interests are now generating modest quantities of revenue, and we need to demonstrate further the commercial viability of jatropha in order to attract investors on acceptable terms in a year-to-18-months' time," Mr Good said.

In 2008, revenues from continuing operations soared from £10,100 to £4.17m.

Share swap?

D1 Oils said it was in talks with BP over the oil giant's exit from D1-BP Fuel Crops.

A deal swapping BP's stake in the joint venture for shares in D1 Oils appeared the most likely exit route, a person familiar with the situation told Agrimoney.com.

D1 Oil shares, which reaced 284p in July 2007 amid a surge in interest in biofuels stocks, closed down 0.25p at 8.5p.