"Anglo Platinum wishes to announce headline earnings of R1,12 billion for the first half of 2003. When compared to the same period last year, headline earnings declined by 57,3% primarily as a result of the 26,9% decline in the Rand / US Dollar exchange rate."
Platinum ounces in concentrate produced by mining operations increased by 9,6% to 1,17 million ounces for the period as new operations in the ramp-up phase continue to increase production. Refined platinum production for the period was limited to 915 100 ounces as a result of a temporary increase in pipeline stocks, equivalent to approximately 205 000 ounces of refined platinum.
Cash on mine costs per ton milled at steady state operations increased by 9,4 %, broadly in line with inflation. Lower grade associated with an increased proportion of UG2 reef mined resulted in a comparable cost increase per contained platinum ounce of 14,5%. The Group achieved a gross profit margin of 25,6%.
The Board has declared an interim dividend of 370 cents per ordinary share.
Commenting on these results, Chief Executive Officer, Ralph Havenstein, said that he was looking forward to a challenging 2003. "Despite the decline in headline earnings when compared to the same period in 2002, Anglo Platinum remains a very focussed market driven resource business. It has an excellent asset base and the opportunity to grow earnings and has made significant progress in implementing its massive expansion programme to realise this objective."
Regarding the Company’s expansion plans, Havenstein said : "We are confident that the market demand fundamentals support our growth strategy. The projects that make up the announced production increase are continuously optimised and evaluated in the light of changing parameters especially the R/$ exchange rate."
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Mike Mtakati
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