(Reuters) -South Africa’s Anglo American Platinum on Monday posted a 71% decline in half-year profit due to weaker platinum group metal (PGM) prices and lower production.
Amplats’ headline earnings per share (HEPS) – the main measure of corporate profit in South Africa – fell to 29.84 rand ($1.66) in the half-year that ended June 30, from 101.40 rand a year ago.
Amplats CEO Natascha Viljoen, who will soon leave the company to join Newmont Corp as chief operating officer, said the appointment of her successor was imminent.
“The process is quite robust and the announcement is imminent,” Viljoen said on a media call, without giving a date.
The world’s top PGM company by value said its realised basket price per PGM ounce of $1,885 was 29% lower compared to the same period last year.
Refined PGM production from Amplats’ owned production decreased by 13% to 1.7 million ounces, due to planned maintenance and asset integrity work at its processing operations, as well as the impact of South Africa’s electricity shortages.
Amplats declared a dividend of 12 rand per share, down from 81 rand per share during the same period last year, returning 3.2 billion rand to shareholders.
($1 = 17.9924 rand)
(Reporting by Nelson BanyaEditing by Bernadette Baum and Louise Heavens)
