Implats to Return to Annual Profit Thanks to Platinum Price Rise

Shares of Impala Platinum (Implats) (OTCQX:IMPUY,JSE:IMP) climbed almost 4 percent on Monday (July 8) after the miner announced that it expects an annual profit thanks to an improvement in platinum-group metals prices and higher sales volumes.

The company, which is the second largest producer of the precious metal in the world, also stated that improved operational performance has boosted its headline earnings per share. They are expected to bounce back in the year ended June 30, 2019 after a loss of 1.71 rand per share in 2018.

“The increase in refined platinum production is primarily due to improved performance from Impala Rustenburg and a stock release of platinum compared to a build-up in the comparative period,” Implats notes in a press release.

In addition to experiencing a headline earnings loss last year, Implats also incurred a basic earnings loss of 14.86 rand per share, with the platinum miner stating that the decrease was the result of negative impacts stemming from impairments of 9.7 billion rand, or 13.5 rand per share, after tax.

Meanwhile, Implats states that its refined platinum production for the 2019 financial year ticked up by approximately 4 percent to just above 1.5 million ounces.

The company is also seeing gains on the financial side, as platinum sales volumes for the period are expected to increase by 12 percent to 1.5 million ounces, up from 1.3 million ounces this time last year.

“Sales volumes for the period are higher due to the increase in refined production. Sales volumes in the comparative period were lower than refined metal, primarily due to toll metal of 1.4 million ounces returned to a third party customer,” the miner says in the release.

The Impala Rustenburg mine operates out of the western limb of the world-renowned Bushveld complex and has a 15 year mine life. Implats owns 96 percent of the asset, which contributes 39.6 percent to the company’s group platinum production.

Implats will release its annual financial results on September 5.

As of 12:20 p.m. EDT on Monday, Implats was up 3.38 percent, trading at 7,485 rand.

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