Ambatovy nickel project to complete debt restructuring in December, says Sumitomo
As of late October, the nickel and cobalt project was slowly resuming production.
South African miner Kumba Iron Ore reported a nearly three-fold increase in interim earnings on Tuesday and hiked its dividend payout, as higher iron ore prices and increased production boosted profit.
The company, a unit of Anglo American, raised its interim dividend to 72.70 rand from 19.60 rand per share a year ago, equalling 100% of its headline earnings,
Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), another Anglo American group subsidiary, also declared a record interim dividend of 175 rand per share on Monday after half-year earnings soared on the back of higher metals prices.
Johannesburg-listed Kumba reported a jump in diluted headline earnings per share of 178% to 72.56 rand for the six months ended on June 30, up from 26.13 rand a year earlier.
“We have earned effectively the equivalent of what we have earned in the whole of last year in just six months,” Kumba’s chief executive Themba Mkhwanazi said during a call.
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) for the half-year jumped 155% to 44.4 billion rand ($3 billion), with the company closing with net cash of 40.7 billion rand.
Kumba recorded an average realised export price increase of 137% driven by supply disruptions and a recovery in China’s economy, and expected iron ore prices to remain supported but grow at a slower pace compared with the first half.
Kumba said production rose 12% during the period to 20.4 million tonnes, despite above-average rainfall affecting operations and logistics in the Northern Cape region home to its mines.
The miner cut its annual sales guidance by 1 million tonnes to between 39.5 to 40.5 million tonnes due to potential impact from weather, logistics disruptions and a maintenance shutdown in the second half of the year.
($1=14.8003 rand)
(By Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Joe Bavier)
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