allanswart/iStock via Getty Images
Impala Platinum (OTCQX:IMPUY) (OTCQX:IMPUF) said Wednesday it expects at least a 20% Y/Y decline in profit for the six months ending in December, mainly due to weaker prices for platinum group metals.
The South African miner said headline earnings and earnings per share for the half-year period will come in at least 20% below the 14B rand (~$748M) and 16.54 rand, respectively, from the year-earlier period.
Implats (OTCQX:IMPUY) (OTCQX:IMPUF) said its PGM production rose by 18% to 1.9M oz after including output from the recently acquired Royal Bafokeng Platinum assets as well as "a noticeable reduction in the frequency and intensity" of electricity supply disruptions in South Africa.
The company said repairs to its 11 Shaft in Rustenburg, where a deadly accident killed 13 workers and injured 73 others last November, are set to be completed in February.
Prices of palladium and platinum fell by ~40% and 15%, respectively, last year, due to weak automotive demand and rising sales of battery powered electric vehicles.