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Johannesburg - Anglo American Platinum [JSE:AMS] said on Friday that it expected its year headline earnings to fall between 40% and 55%, a bigger drop than the 20% it flagged to the market in December, as it continues to count the costs of a five-month strike which hit its key operations last year.
Headline earnings per share for 2014 are expected to be between 250 cents and 335c, the world's largest platinum producer said in a trading statement on Friday.
The Anglo American [JSE:AGL] unit lost 532 000 ounces as a result of the strike by the Association of Mine Workers and Construction Union (Amcu) which ended in June last year.
It had recovered faster than expected and resumed full production ahead of schedule, in marked contrast to rival Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP], which was also hit by the strike but has struggled with a number of operational issues including several fatal accidents that followed the end of the stoppage.
Amplats said its expected decrease in headline earnings was "primarily due to the impact of the five month industrial action which impacted on operational performance". It will publish annual results on February 9.
The statement indicates that the ultimate costs of the sometimes violent strike were higher than it originally anticipated. Amplats shares fell 3.3% by 11:45.
Amplats' struggle to deliver the margins expected by investors could complicate its plans to sell a number of its assets, including its key operations around the restive platinum belt town of Rustenburg.
Compounding the woes of producers, the massive strike had little impact on the price of the precious metal, which fell 12% in 2014.
But the rand currency tanked 10% against the dollar over the same period, which is a relief for South African producers whose commodity is priced in the US currency.
Headline earnings per share for 2014 are expected to be between 250 cents and 335c, the world's largest platinum producer said in a trading statement on Friday.
The Anglo American [JSE:AGL] unit lost 532 000 ounces as a result of the strike by the Association of Mine Workers and Construction Union (Amcu) which ended in June last year.
It had recovered faster than expected and resumed full production ahead of schedule, in marked contrast to rival Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP], which was also hit by the strike but has struggled with a number of operational issues including several fatal accidents that followed the end of the stoppage.
Amplats said its expected decrease in headline earnings was "primarily due to the impact of the five month industrial action which impacted on operational performance". It will publish annual results on February 9.
The statement indicates that the ultimate costs of the sometimes violent strike were higher than it originally anticipated. Amplats shares fell 3.3% by 11:45.
Amplats' struggle to deliver the margins expected by investors could complicate its plans to sell a number of its assets, including its key operations around the restive platinum belt town of Rustenburg.
Compounding the woes of producers, the massive strike had little impact on the price of the precious metal, which fell 12% in 2014.
But the rand currency tanked 10% against the dollar over the same period, which is a relief for South African producers whose commodity is priced in the US currency.
