Tharisa, a story of fat dividends and diversification
Upgrades to enhance Tharisa’s output of PGM and chrome concentrate will have payback periods of less than a year
The planned increase in the dividend payout and the possibility of diversification into other commodities offer enticing prospects for miner Tharisa. Its major shareholders are the Pouroulis family, whose patriarch, Loucas, made a handsome profit when selling Eland Platinum to Xstrata for US$1bn in 2007. It helped to obliterate memories of his earlier, less successful platinum venture, Lefkochrysos. Family-owned businesses generally favour good distributions. Tharisa has been ramping up its new mine since it listed on the JSE 3½ years ago, but now that it has reached a steady state it has upped the dividend significantly. It paid US$0.05/share for the year to September, compared with $0.01/share last year. Its policy is to distribute at least 10% of its net profit after tax, and it plans to increase the payout to at least 15% as well as to start paying interim dividends. To achieve Vision 2020 Tharisa will upgrade its PGM flotation circuit and build a plant to treat more chromitite ...
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