Ramatlhodi unmoved by Amplats asset sale talk
The extent of the inevitable earnings smack that platinum miners have taken as a result of the historic five-month strike will reflect in the release on Monday of the latest Amplats interim report. The preliminary H1 HEPS and EPS forecast carried in this Sapa report paint a sombre picture indeed. The results announcement on Monday will probably also deal with rumours that Amplats is offloading assets – an issue that Mineral Resources Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi is losing no sleep over! GK
Parliament July 15 SAPA
"Obviously, they are not closing down the shafts, they are selling and they are selling going concerns," he told reporters in Parliament on Tuesday.
"It is a running entity, a running entity. So I don't see much serious repercussions," said Ramatlhodi, after being asked if he was concerned about rumours that Amplats was selling its assets.
The platinum producer was one of the companies affected by the five-month strike in the sector this year.
Amplats would not comment.
"Anglo American Platinum is currently in a closed period and we will be updating the market when we release our interim results on Monday 21 July," spokeswoman Mpumi Sithole said in an e-mail to Sapa.
Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) members at Amplats, Lonmin, and Impala Platinum went on strike on January 23 demanding a basic monthly salary of R12,500. They agreed on a three-year wage deal on June 24.
In terms of the agreement, the salary of the lowest paid worker would increase by R1000 in the first two years and R950 in the third year.
The strike cost the companies revenue of around R24 billion, and workers earnings of around R10.7bn.
Amplats said it expected its headline earnings per share (HEPS) and basic earnings per share (EPS) to decrease due to the strike.
The company was finalising its results for the six months ending June 30, it said in an earlier statement.
HEPS for the period were expected to decrease to between 20 cents and 80 cents from 514 cents reported for the six months ended June 30, 2013.
Basic EPS for the period were expected to decrease to between 130 cents and 180 cents, from 468 cents for the comparative previous period.
"The decrease in HEPS and EPS is primarily due to the impact of the five-month industrial action which impacted on operational performance," Amplats said.