JSE-and Aim-listed diversified miner Petmin on Monday reported a 120% surge in headline earnings to 6,52c a share for the six months ended December 31, on the back of a 92% increase in revenue for the period.
Gross profit for the half-year at R56-million showed a 134% increase over the previous comparable figure of R24-million.
The company said that its results benefited from an improved performance from its anthracite division following the production ramp-up at the Somkhele mine, which was commissioned in June.
Its KwaZulu-Natal-located Springlake coal mine also showed an improved performance, it said in an emailed statement.
Meanwhile, Petmin said that it had placed orders for diesel generators to supply power to its SamQuartz and Somkhele mines, at a cost of just under R20-million.
This came after State-owned power utility Eskom was forced to ask its biggest customers to cut their power use by one-tenth, as it did not have enough power to supply them.
Petmin said that its new generators would be operational by midyear.
"Assuming a 10% reduction in power supply, no material impact on operating costs is anticipated," the company stated. It said that it was also considering alternative power supplies for its Springlake mine.
Petmin went on to say that the Veremo project in Mpumalanga, which it would own one-quarter of, would start producing ductile iron and titanium-bearing slag by four years from April 30, this year.
LSE-listed Kermas Group, which owns chrome producer Samancor Chrome, would hold the remaining 75%, and would also fund and manage the construction and commissioning of the projects plant.
The Veremo project is an iron-ore deposit on the eastern bushveld at Stoffberg.
The plant would initially produce 700 000 t/y of ductile iron and in addition, titanium-bearing slag, which could be commercially exploited in the future.
© 2009 Petmin Limited