JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – JSE-listed Trans Hex on Monday posted a surge in earnings for the financial year ended March 31, as the South African operations recovered from losses in the prior year.

The group recorded a R190.5-million profit for the year, a significant increase from the R22.7-million recorded in 2014.

Headline earnings a share increased from 9.8c in 2014 to 78.6c, while basic earnings a share rose from 20.7c in 2014 to 181.1c.

In the financial year under review, group profit after tax from continuing operations bounced back into the black at R169.1-million from a loss of R5.1-million in 2014.

Trans Hex reported a 35.1% rise in sales revenue to R939.7-million for the 12 months to March owing to a 9.3% increase in average prices to $1 353/ct, as well as a 14% increase in carats sold at 66 819 ct.

Revenue was also positively affected by an 8.4% weakening in the rand, the group noted.

The South African operations swung from a R8.9-million pre-tax loss in 2014 to a R173.2-million pre-tax profit, with gross profit surging from R42-million last year to R150.8-million for the 2015 financial year.

Despite recording an 18.4% rise in output to 61 688 ct in the year to March 31, production was expected to drop to 53 000 ct in the 2016 financial year.

Meanwhile, operations at Trans Hex’s 40%-owned West Coast Resources’ Namaqualand mine, in the Northern Cape, started in December, with the commissioning of the final recovery plant at Kleinzee completed in March this year.

“The final recovery plant at Kleinzee is currently in operation and is sampling and mining final recovery tailings. At Mitchell's Bay, exploration drilling is under way and a bulk sampling plant at Koingnaas will be sampling ahead of production,” Trans Hex said.

Further, production at the group’s 39%-owned Somiluana mine, in Angola, during the period under review, reached 94 483 ct, a hike on the 72 041 ct achieved in the prior year, owing to a 16.9% increase in grade and a 12.2% increase in gravel treated.

Total 2015 sales amounted to $43.9-million at an average price of $458/ct compared with the 2014 sales of $32.4-million at an average price of $478/ct.

Profit from the Angolan continuing operations contracted from R2.7-million in 2014 to R2.4-million in 2015.

Trans Hex posted cash and cash equivalents of R407.2-million as at March 31.