Market unimpressed with Amplats production update

Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) [JSE: AMS] has reported platinum group metal (PGM) production of 1,141,200 ounces for the quarter to end-September - in line with prior year.

Platinum production fell 1% to 526,800 ounces and palladium production flat at 351,800 ounces. On Tuesday morning, its share price fell by 3% following the production update. So far this year, its share price has doubled to around R1,070 - thanks in large part to a rally in palladium prices.

Higher production from the Mogalakwena and Unki mines partly offset by decreased production from Amandelbult and Mototolo.

PGM sales volumes (excluding tolling) were marginally down 2% to 1,022,900 ounces due to lower minor metal sales

Own managed mines PGM production increased by 1% to 642,500 ounces due to increased production from Mogalakwena and Unki.

Refined PGM production including tolling increased by 26% to almost 1,360,700 ounces due to improved   processing operational performance

For the full year, Amplats still expects to produce between 4.2 - 4.5 million ounces, including platinum production of between 2.0 - 2.1 million ounces and palladium production guidance of between 1.3 – 1.4 million ounces.

“The Company is not expecting any significant headwinds in the final quarter, however if there are any prolonged periods of Eskom load shedding, full year production guidance could be impacted.”

No fatalities were suffered in the past quarter.