Iron-ore miner Kumba Iron Ore delivered a solid operational performance in the fourth quarter and the full-year ended December 31, CEO Themba Mkhwanazi said on Thursday.

The Anglo American subsidiary produced 42.4-million tonnes of iron-ore and sold 42.2-million tonnes of iron-ore for the full-year, in line with its guidance of producing 42-million to 43-million tonnes and selling 41.5-million to 42.5-million tonnes respectively.

Domestic sales were, however, 2% lower than in 2018 as a result of lower offtake from steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa, which took a decision to wind down operations at its Saldanha Steel plant.

Export sales for the year were flat at 40-million tonnes.

Production was also 2% lower year-on-year in 2019, primarily owing to the temporary closure of the dense media separation (DMS) plant at the Kolomela mine, for an infrastructure upgrade.

For the fourth-quarter ended December 31, production was up 12% quarter-on-quarter to 11.8-million tonnes, driven by an improved performance at Sishen and the restarting of the Kolomela DMS plant as scheduled.

Kumba said the higher production in the fourth quarter reflected continued improvements in operational performance at Sishen following unscheduled maintenance on the DMS plant in the third quarter, as well as the on-schedule ramp-up in production at Kolomela with the reopening of the DMS plant in the fourth quarter.

The iron-ore miner is finalising its financial results for the year ended December 31, which it expects to release on February 18.

Headline earnings for the period are expected to between R15.68-billion and R16.87-billion.

Headline earnings per share (HEPS) are expected to be between R48.93 and R52.47, an increase of between 62% and 73% year-on-year.

Reported headline earnings and HEPS for the comparative period were R9.68-billion and R30.28, respectively.

Basic earnings for the period under review are expected to be between R15.64-billion and R16.78-billion.

Basic earnings per share (EPS) are expected to be between R48.79 and R52.34, an increase of between 62% and 74% year-on-year. 

Reported basic earnings and EPS for the comparative period were R9.62-billion and R30.08, respectively.

The increase in earnings for the period is largely attributable to the higher average realised free-on-board export ore price and a weaker rand/dollar exchange rate, relative to the comparative period.