Bauba Platinum’s earnings surge as it makes progress at Moeijelijk
A turnaround in the chrome ore market has enabled the small-cap platinum miner to get its sole operating mine going again
Small-cap platinum miner Bauba said on Friday interim headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months to end-December jumped 380% from a year ago, to 4.19c.However, compared with the six months to end-June, HEPS were down 71% from 14.7c, due to delayed development of Moeijelijk, the company’s sole operating mine.The improvement in results compared with the period to end-December 2016 are because Moeijelijk was under care and maintenance at the time.HEPS to end-December 2017 was in the middle of recent guidance.Weak chrome-ore pricing and consequent slower implementation of open-cast production also contributed to the lower performance, Bauba said in a statement on Friday.Profit before tax for the period increased 780% to R46.7m from a loss of R6.8m in the year-earlier period.In January 2016‚ Bauba placed Moeijelijk in care and maintenance after the chrome-ore price fell under $120 a tonne‚ making the mine financially unviable. It reopened the mine in January 2017.Bauba expects...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.