Amplats Raises Guidance After Strong Q3 Results

Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) (JSE:AMS) has once again increased its full-year platinum-group metals (PGMs) production guidance. 

The miner now expects to produce between 5.1 and 5.2 million ounces of PGMs following a successful third quarter, the company announced on Tuesday (October 23).

Initially, the miner expected to produce between 4.75 and 5 million ounces of PGMs for the full year, but it raised that forecast to between 4.85 and 5.1 million ounces in July.

“Total PGM production was up 3 percent as improved operational performances across the majority of the portfolio offset unprofitable production from Bokoni which was place on care and maintenance in Q3 2017,” the company said in Tuesday’s press release.

“Platinum production increased 4 percent to 649,000 ounces and palladium production increased 1 percent to 410,800 ounces,” Amplats added.

The company was able to achieve the impressive third-quarter results despite the removal of unprofitable ounces from Bokoni, which was placed on care and maintenance during Q3 of last year.

Amplats noted that during Q3, strong performances from Unki, whose output increased by 14 percent, and Amandelbult, which saw production rise by 5 percent, resulted in the company’s mined PGMs production increasing by 2 percent to 567,600 ounces.

Those increases were offset by a 2-percent decrease at Mogalakwena, where production fell to 271,800 ounces thanks to planned maintenance. Concentrator throughput and recoveries were both lower.

Furthermore, refined PGMs production decreased by 21 percent to about 1 million ounces as a result of a planned partial furnace rebuild at the Polokwane smelter during the quarter, leading to an increase in work-in-progress inventory.

The rebuild resulted in a 16-percent decrease in sales volumes to around 1.2 million ounces.

Amplats has also revised its sales volume guidance upward to between 5.2 and 5.3 million ounces, as a drawdown of refined inventory has supplemented sales volumes. 

As of 2:23 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Amplats was down 2.48 percent, trading at GBX 1,622.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Nicole Rashotte, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.