[miningmx.com] — ANGLO Platinum (AngloPlat) has resumed dividend payments, declaring a final dividend of R6.83 a share for the year to end-December on the back of a 595% jump in headline earnings to R19.35 (2009 – 289c).
The group has also announced a new black economic empowerment (BEE) initiative valued at up to R3.8bn, which will take AngloPlat “beyond legislative compliance’.
According to AngloPlat CEO Neville Nicolau the primary factor contributing to the higher earnings was a 45% rise in the realised dollar basket price for platinum group metals (pgm) sold. This was partially offset by an 11% strengthening in the average rand/dollar exchange rate for the year.
The headline earnings calculation excludes an after-tax profit of R771m on the disposal of AngloPlat’s 37% in the Western Bushveld joint venture, and an after-tax gain of R4.4bn on the listing of the Bafokeng-Rasimone Platinum Mine.
Nicolau said AngloPlat beat its production and sales target for the year of 2.5 million ounces of platinum by refining 2.57m oz of platinum and selling 2.52m oz. He added the group kept its unit cash costs “essentially flat’ at R11,730 per equivalent refined ounce produced.
Nicolau said AngloPlat expected the platinum market to stay in balance during 2011 because of continued strength from autocatalyst and industrial demand, combined with resilient jewellery markets and continued investor interest.
He expected the platinum price to average “at least $1,800/oz’ despite the fact that platinum supply should increase during the year to above 2010 levels.
Nicolau said AngloPlat expected to increase platinum production to around 2.6m oz during 2011, while keeping costs at around 2010 levels.
Nicolau also announced a further multi-billion rand, broad-based economic empowerment ownership transaction despite the fact that the group was granted conversion of its old order mining rights into new order mining rights in July last year.
The value of the transaction was estimated at 1% to 2% of AngloPlat’s market capitalisation, which at its current R191bn puts it in a range of R2bn to R3.8bn. AngloPlat said it would “facilitate the financing of the transaction’.
According to an AngloPlat statement, the latest BEE deal is designed to “promote long-term sustainable development in host communities and key labour sending areas (beneficiary communities) that are not benefiting from the company’s extensive BEE programme to date.
“The beneficiary communities will include qualifying communities around the Twickenham, Mogalakwena, Rustenburg and Amandelbult operations as well as our key labour sending areas.
“This initiative heralds a new approach that emphasises broad-based economic empowerment and engagement with the beneficiary communities, as well as taking Anglo Platinum beyond legislative compliance.”
Nicolau commented the significance of the programme “comes in that it enables us to partner with the beneficiary communities and begin the process of creating sustainable legacies that will outlast the lives of our mines’.
