Impala Platinum Earnings Climb 67% as Metal Prices Rise

Impala Platinum Holdings saidamerica stone crushing machines manufacturers first-half profit rose 67 percent as rand-based prices climbed. Adjusted earnings climbed to 5.73 rand a share in the six months through December, from 3.44 rand a year before, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement today.

The mean estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg is for adjusted earnings of 5.35 rand. While the average dollar platinum price increased 1.7 percent to $1,654.33 in the six-month period, the rand price of the metal advanced 8.5 percent as the local currency depreciated. Impala mines mostly in South Africa, which has the largest reserves. Refined platinum production declined 21 percent to 356,000 ounces after a 48 percent decrease in volumes supplied to Impala by rival companies. Second-half output will be eroded by a stoppage at Impala’s largest mine near Rustenburg, northwest of Johannesburg. The company is losing about 3,000 platinum ounces a day at the operation, which came to...