PATRICE MOTSEPE
African Rainbow Minerals’ results highlights the benefit of being a company with such a diverse asset portfolio
Photo by: Duane Daws
The headline earnings of black-controlled JSE-listed African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) increased 10% to R4.11-billion for the year ended June 30, the diversified mining company reported last week.
This increase was primarily due to a significant improve-ment in ARM Platinum and ARM Ferrous, the company’s iron-ore and manganese arm, which has a 50% stake in mining company Assmang, with Assore holding the balance.
ARM Platinum’s contribution to headline earnings was up by 68% to R883-million owing to excellent performance from the Nkomati and Two Rivers mines, in Mpumalanga, which increased headline earnings by 91% and 88% respectively, as a result of improved sales volumes and a weaker rand:dollar exchange rate.
ARM Ferrous contributed R3.74-billion to the company’s headline earnings in the 2014 financial year, an increase of 17% from the R3.19-billion recorded in the previous year. This was attributed to higher dollar prices for the business’s lumpy iron-ore and high-grade manganese ore.
Speaking at the company’s provisional results presentation last week, ARM executive chairperson Patrice Motsepe said headline earnings per share were R19, up on the R17.35 a share in the previous year.
ARM declared a record annual dividend of R6 a share in the 2014 financial year, up from the dividend of R5.10 a share in the previous year.