[miningmx.com] — SHARES in Impala Platinum, the world’s second-largest producer of the precious metal, dropped during early trade on Thursday despite an upbeat trading update.
The group’s shares were trading at R209.50 at 9:50, down 2.34% for the day.
On Wednesday, Impala said headline earnings per share for the six months to end-December likely totalled between 329 cents and 350 cents, up from 212 cents a year earlier.
The higher earnings were largely due to increased metal prices and sales, Implats said.
However, the company said earnings were tempered by the strength of the rand. The currency has gained about 26% since the start of 2009, a negative for South African miners that sell metals for dollars.
