JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Shares in JSE-listed Assore rose 4% on Tuesday, after the company said it was set to report a significant increase in its interim earnings.

The manganese, iron-ore and chrome company expected to earn between R1.99-billion and R2.21-billion for the six months ended December 2011, up from R1.39-billion a year earlier.

Attributable earnings a share would increase to between R18.55 and R20.50 a share, up from R11.64 a share. Headline earnings a share would rise to between R18.01 and R19.91 a share, from R11.63 a share.

Increased sales volumes and a weaker Rand/Dollar exchange rate offset the impact of lower commodity prices owing to the European sovereign debt crisis, the company said in a statement.

Trading conditions in the iron-ore market were favourable and driven mostly by continued Chinese demand. Assore reported volatile, but higher average prices during the current financial year.

Assore would publish its results for the six months on February 16.

The company traded at R229.91 a share late on Tuesday after trading as high as R235 a share earlier in the day. The stock closed at R221.02 a share the previous day.
 

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