(Reuters) -South Africa’s Valterra Platinum expects to report a sharp fall in first half profit by as much as 88% due to lower output and sales as well as one-off costs related to its demerger from Anglo American Plc group, it said on Friday.
Valterra, formerly Anglo American Platinum, said it expects headline earnings between 800 million rand and 1.6 billion rand ($44.97 million-$89.94 million) in the six months to June 30, down from 6.5 billion rand during the same period last year.
Platinum group metal (PGM) sales volumes fell 25% after heavy rainfall and flooding disrupted operations at Valterra’s Tumela mine within its Amandelbult complex, the company said in a trading statement.
Demerger costs amounted to 1.4 billion rand during the first half. Valterra demerged from Anglo in June and is now separately listed in Johannesburg and London, as the global mining giant restructures its business to primarily focus on energy metal copper.
Cost savings of about 2.1 billion rand helped offset the decline in earnings over the period, Valterra said.
The company said its refined production guidance of 3.0 million-3.4 million PGM ounces for the year remains unchanged.
Valterra will release its half-year financial results on July 28, its first as a standalone company.
($1 = 17.7897 rand)
(Reporting by Nelson Banya;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
