Northam Platinum swung to a first-half profit thanks to increased group production following protracted industrial action at the Zondereinde mine in the year-ago period, it said.
A higher rand basket price for PGMs due to the weaker exchange rate between the rand and the dollar was also a factor in the swing to a profit of 354.1 million rand ($30 million) in the six months to December 2014 from a loss of 96 million rand a year previously.
Metal sales revenues at the world’s third largest platinum producer climbed 26 percent to 3 billion rand from 2.3 billion rand in the same comparison despite the loss of 615 kg (19,772 troy ounces) of production and 255 million rand in revenues due to an incident at Zondereinde. But Booysendal metal sales jumped 59.9 percent to 1,820 kg from 1,138 kilograms.
Northam is well positioned for the future despite difficult operating conditions, CEO Paul Dunne said in the company’s earnings statement on Friday.
“Metal prices are likely to remain subdued in the near term. We remain concerned about the unstable electricity supply in South Africa, along with an unsettled labour climate,” he said.
The company recently agreed to buy Aquarius Platinum’s Everest mine in South Africa for 450 million rand ($38.7 million).
(Editing by Mark Shaw)
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