(Reuters) -South Africa’s Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd on Thursday reported a 17% decline in full-year profit as platinum group metal (PGM) prices came off record highs and costs surged, sending its shares 7% lower.
Impala’s headline earnings per share (HEPS) – the profit measure most commonly used in South Africa – came in at 38.53 rand ($2.24) in the 12 months ended June 30, down from 46.35 rand last year.
Its shares were down 7.29% at 1050 GMT.
Impala’s refined production fell 6% to 3.09 million platinum group metal (PGM) ounces during the year as safety stoppages and extended maintenance at its Rustenburg operations in South Africa impacted output.
Costs rose 17% due to inflationary pressures from energy, consumables and the impact of lower mined and refined output, Impala said.
The company declared a final dividend of 10.50 rand per share, bringing total pay-outs to 15.75 rand per share for the year.
($1 = 17.1873 rand)
(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Rashmi Aich)
