Lonmin deep in the hole
The platinum miner is between a rock and a hard place as it tries to fend off bulging costs amid depressed commodity prices
Shareholders in platinum miner Lonmin have lost all but 4% of what they invested in the company five years ago. The stock market capitalisation has dropped to below the R4bn they sank in a rights issue in December 2015 — the third rights issue in 10 years. Yet the company’s struggle for survival is far from over. In the past week Lonmin lost 27% in value as it delayed the publication of its audited annual financial accounts due to a breach of its debt covenants. CEO Ben Magara, who joined Lonmin in the wake of the massacre of 34 of its employees at Marikana in 2012, is racing against time to dispose of assets and slash costs to keep the entity a going concern. Some of the funders have already agreed to waive their rights in the wake of Lonmin’s breach of its debt covenants until March. Chief among those is a requirement that the group’s tangible net worth be not less than US$1.1bn. For the year ended September, Lonmin was already on the verge of breaching this, due to an impairment ...
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.