Tharisa shares dip on earnings decline
JOHANNESBURG – London and JSE-listed Tharisa Minerals, the junior producer of platinum group metals (PGM) and chrome concentrator, shares declined 3.53percent after flagging that earnings would decline by 60percent in the six months to March.
The stock closed at R20.48 on Friday after indicating in a trading statement that it would record US10cents (R1.41) per share for both earnings a share and headline earnings a share, signalling 60percent slide in the half year to March.
The company blamed the material weakening of the metallurgical grade chrome concentrate price by 15.5percent to $163 a ton from $193 a ton in the comparative period in 2018 for the lower earnings.
It also said the increase in the cash mining costs per ton mined as a “result of lower mining volumes has reduced economies of scale and are impacted furthermore by above inflation increases in costs such as diesel of R18.1 per litre in rand terms”.
Tharisa maintained its production guidance for the financial year ending September 30, 2019, of 150000 ounces of PGMs and 1.4 million tons of chrome concentrates.
BUSINESS REPORT
Source: iol.co.za
