CAPE TOWN, Mar 6 – African Rainbow Minerals reported a 10% increase in half-year profit as stronger prices for platinum group metals helped offset weaker earnings from other parts of its mining portfolio.
The South African diversified miner said headline earnings reached 1.67 billion rand, ($100.6 million), for the six months ending December 31, up from 1.52 billion rand during the same period a year earlier.
Growth in the company’s platinum segment was the primary driver of the improved results, reflecting stronger global prices for platinum group metals.
Earnings from the firm’s Two Rivers Mine and Modikwa Mine operations surged by more than 200% each during the period.
The increase was supported by a significant rise in platinum group metal prices, which climbed roughly 44% and 47% respectively across key products in the basket.
Stronger performance from the platinum operations helped cushion the impact of weaker results in other divisions of the company.
Earnings from the iron ore and manganese businesses declined by about 34%, while the coal segment recorded a loss during the reporting period.
Despite the mixed performance across its mining assets, the company increased shareholder returns, declaring an interim dividend of 5 rand per share. That represents an increase from the 4.50 rand interim dividend paid previously.
The results highlight the continued importance of platinum group metals to ARM’s earnings profile as global demand and price movements increasingly shape the performance of South Africa’s mining sector.
