the g spot
Northam Platinum: Riding out the storm
We spoke to Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunne about the company’s bid to raise cash and conserve money that would otherwise have been paid out
Companies worldwide have been scrambling for cash against a desperately uncertain future, and platinum group metal miner Northam Platinum this week managed to switch R1.9bn of bond notes under its R10bn bond programme, effectively helping it raise cash and conserve money that would otherwise have been paid out. CEO Paul Dunne described the swap as "a very positive outcome". We asked him why.
PD: First of all, it’s precautionary and prudent. It’s very important that any company looks after its liquidity, because there is a high degree of uncertainty into the next 12 to 24 months in terms of what happens on the demand side of our industry. The biggest and most important segment of demand is automotive. To put that into some sort of quantum, over 80% of palladium and over 80% of rhodium and 40% of platinum is automotive. So when automotive is shut down, that’s of deep concern. Jewellery has also been affected, as you might imagine...
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