JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Platinum-miner Impala Platinum (Implats) on Thursday reported a 66% drop in net profit for the year ended June 30, 2009, to R6-billion, compared with R17,7-billion the year before.

Revenues were down by 31% to R26,1-billion, compared with R37,6-billion the year before, the company said in a statement to shareholders on Thursday.

Sales volumes were down by 10%, while significant drops in the price of platinum, palladium and rhodium had negatively impacted on revenues.

The miner stated that production and cost performance had been “extremely disappointing”, with gross platinum production down 11% to 1,7-million ounces in the year, as a result of lower production from its largest operation, Impala Rustenburg, and Impala Refining Services.

Implats had produced 1,9-million ounces of platinum the year before.

It added that the deterioration in the safety performance at the Rustenburg operations, where fatalities had doubled to ten year-on-year, was unacceptable.

Meanwhile, refined palladium production has remained flat at about one-million ounces, while rhodium production was down nearly 5% to 248 000 oz, compared with 261 000 oz the year before.

Nickel production remained flat at 15 000 t.

The company would, going forward, focus on ensuring a stable production base in the short term, it stated.

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