Amplats posts hefty first-half loss as platinum prices languish
A strong rand undid higher dollar prices for platinum group metals, and the company is targeting a 25% cost reduction at the money-losing Amandelbult mine
Anglo American Platinum posted a chunky interim loss, as rand prices for its metals languish at 2013 levels and the company investigates ways to boost productivity and cut costs to cope with a difficult market — in which two-thirds of SA’s platinum production is loss-making. Amplats, which is 80% owned by Anglo American, has just one loss-making asset, the Amandelbult mine, and CEO Chris Griffith said the company had a plan to bring costs at the mine down by 25% in the next few years. Amplats reported a post-tax loss of R1.3bn for the six months to end-June, compared with a R1.5bn profit for the same period a year earlier, with impairments of R2.2bn in the period weighing heavily on the group. The company withheld an interim dividend payment.
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