Anglo American Platinum Warns of 1st Half EPS Falling by Up to 75%

By Joe Hoppe

Anglo American Platinum said Monday that it expects to report that first-half basic earnings and headline earnings to have fallen between 65% and 75% on year, as lower palladium prices hit revenue, the exchange rate weakened and sales slipped.

The South African precious-metals company, which is majority owned by Anglo American PLC, said it expects headline earnings to be between 6.7 billion and 9.4 billion South African rand ($370.1 billion-$519.3 billion), down from ZAR26.7 billion a year prior. Headline earnings per share are expected to slip to between 2,544 and 3,569 South African cents per share, compared with 10,140 cents in the first half of 2022.

Basic earnings are expected to be between ZAR6.6 billion and ZAR9.3 billion, down from ZAR26.7 billion last year. EPS is expected to be between 2,506 cents and 3,531 cents compared with 10,125 cents a year prior.

The company attributed the decline to lower average prices hitting revenue, with contributions mainly from declines in rhodium and palladium prices, which fell 47% and 29%, respectively. Sales volumes from its own production, excluding trading, fell 12% on year, reflecting lower refined production, scheduled maintenance and asset integrity work.

Inflation pressure and exchange-rate volatility also led to higher mining and processing costs, the company said.

Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 17, 2023 01:42 ET (05:42 GMT)

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