Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) is expecting lower profitability in the six months ending June 30, 2023, due to a weaker Platinum Group Metal (PGM) price environment, less platinum, palladium, rhodium, and gold (4E) ounce production, and inflationary pressures.
It also reported a drop from basic earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) to estimated basic loss per share (estimated LPS) and estimated headline loss per share (estimated HLPS), primarily due to poor PGM prices.
The drop in rhodium price was particularly noteworthy, falling by 50% and helping to contribute to a 23.6% drop in the basket price per 4E ounce.
Inflation was higher than the Consumer Price Index, and the company had problems running its Styldrift mine.
Foreign exchange profits on the devaluation of concentrate due to the weakening of the rand versus the US dollar mitigated some of this.
Shareholders were informed by RBPlat that the company expects its LPS for the first half of 2023 to be 117.0 cents, representing a fall of 115.3% from the basic EPS of 765.4 cents reported for the prior-year period.
The projected HLPS is 113.8 cents, down 114.8 % from the HEPS of 767.3 cents in the prior-year period.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
