Impala leaps 12% after returning to profit
Higher platinum prices and improved production after furnace maintenance will boost miner’s interim results
Impala Platinum’s share price surged to a 14-month high on Monday after the company said it had returned to profitability in the first half of its financial year. The world's second-largest platinum producer was given a boost by the price of platinum group metals palladium and rhodium surging to multiyear highs as global demand outstrips supply. The company's improved financial performance, however, has not altered plans to slash 13,000 jobs and close five of its 11 mines within two years. Impala said it expected to report on February 28 that its headline earnings per share for the six months to end-December would be at least R2.92, a recovery from the matching period’s 21c headline loss per share.
The number was significantly above market expectations, with the consensus for full-year headline earnings per share of R1.88, said Anchor Capital investment analyst Seleho Tsatsi. Though no details had been given, the company had also presumably registered a solid performance in te...
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