Tharisa, a chrome and platinum group metals (PGMs) miner, recorded a 5.3% drop in revenue to $649.9 million in the fiscal year ended September 30 from $686 million in the previous fiscal year.
The company said that it remained relatively resilient to the drop in PGM prices and sales volumes while benefiting from the strength of robust chrome sales volumes and a 25.8% increase in realised chrome prices.
Tharisa's profits before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) was $136.8 million, a 42.4% drop year on year, attributable mostly to inflationary and operational cost increases outpacing revenue growth over the year, as well as commodity price volatility.
Company chief executive Phoevos Pouroulis said that domestic difficulties in the period included electrical challenges at the Tharisa mine as well as logistics issues mandating a shift from rail to road transport.
Instability, geopolitics, inflation, a fluctuating commodity price environment, and fiscal and regulatory uncertainty were among the macroeconomic challenges.
Pouroulis cited tailwinds such as a buoyant chrome commodity market, counter-cyclical commodities in the group's basket, and robust fundamentals for both commodities.
Meanwhile, chrome production was 1.58 million tonnes, with average metallurgical-grade chrome concentrate prices increasing 25.8% to $263 per tonne in 2023 from $209 per tonne in 2022.
PGM output was 144 700 oz during the period under consideration, compared to 179 200 oz in 2022. The average price of a PGM basket fell by 26.2%.
The full-year 2024 production target is 145 000 oz to 155 000 oz of PGMs and 1.7 million to 1.8 million tons of chrome concentrate.
Tharisa's primary investment is in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tharisa Minerals, which owns and runs the Tharisa mine, an open-pit PGM and chrome mine in South Africa's Bushveld Complex.
It also owns a 75% stake in Karo Mining, which owns an indirect 85% stake in a development-stage PGM asset on Zimbabwe's Great Dyke.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
