Kumba warns of lower earnings owing to strike, weak export prices

16th January 2013 By: Natasha Odendaal - Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – JSE-listed Kumba Iron Ore on Wednesday warned of lower 2012 full-year earnings after an illegal strike at its Northern Cape operations and weaker export iron-ore prices weighed on the group.

The Anglo American subsidiary expected headline and basic earnings to fall to between R11.65-billion and R12.45-billion for the year ended December 2012, compared with the R17-billion reported in 2011.

Headline earnings a share and earnings a share were expected to reach between R36.30 and R38.80, down from the R53.13 and R53.11 recorded respectively the year before.

Kumba earlier reported losing 120 000 t/d of production after a group of employees halted production and occupied the Sishen mine from October 3 to 16 – in contravention of a court order – demanding higher wages.

Kumba would report on its financial results for the 12 months to December on February 12.