Johannesburg - SA mining contractor Sentula Mining [JSE:SNU] on
Thursday reported a 35% rise in full-year profit and said the outlook for the
current financial year remained robust, given its exposure to the more resilient
coal industry.
Shares in the company, down more than 5% so far this year,
jumped 7% by 07:18 GMT, compared with a 0.39% fall in the JSE All Share
[JSE:J203] index.
Sentula said full-year headline earnings per share rose to
21.7 cents from 16.1c a year earlier. Revenue rose 5% to R2.51bn.
Chief executive Robin Berry said demand from coal mines was
strong after logistics group Transnet increased capacity on the rail lines
connecting collieries with the coastal export terminal. Consistent demand for
coal from state-owned power utility Eskom also helped, he said.
“The outlook for deployment of equipment in the coal
industry is still quite buoyant for this financial year,” he told Reuters.
“The
coal industry is a lot more stable and a lot more defensive (than other
commodities).”
The company reported a basic loss per share of 88.9c
due to a R591m impairment charge from equipment held for resale at its
discontinued Megacube opencast operation.
Sentula has invested in coal projects in South Africa,
Botswana and Zambia, some of which are nearing production or are at the
exploration phase.
Its Nkomati anthracite mine in South Africa, which was
placed on care and maintenance in 2011 due to regulatory and environmental
issues, is expected to resume operations in the second half of this financial
year.
Barry said Sentula was open to different options to maximise
benefits from the two coal projects it owns in Mpumalanga
province, either by developing or selling them.
Each of those projects, once developed, could produce 1
million tonnes of thermal coal a year.
“We have approaches all the time, but there is nothing firm
as we speak,” he said. “Our strategy is to monetise this or next financial
year.”
The company decided
not to declare a dividend.
Sentula shares were up 7.03% to R1.98 on Thursday morning.