Motsepe’s firm hits year running
AFRICAN Rainbow Minerals (ARM), a diversified mining company chaired by billionaire Patrice Motsepe, expects to report an interim profit, veering away from a loss at the same time in 2017.
ARM forecast it would post basic earnings per share for the six months to end-December of between 912c and 930c compared with a loss of 134c a year earlier, with stronger prices for the commodities the company produces.
The previous year’s interim results were skewed by impairments of more than R1.8-billion against its Nkomati nickel mine and its Modikwa platinum mine, as well as a write-down within its Assmang joint venture with Assore related to the sale of the Dwarsrivier chrome mine.
Its headline earnings, which strip out one-off items to give a like-for-like comparison number, were forecast at between 986c and 1 037c per share from headline earnings of 893c the year before.
Giving good guidance on what to expect from ARM’s performance, Assore has already reported results showing a 17% increase in revenue to R3.8-billion from the chrome, iron ore and manganese interests that it shares with ARM, while headline earnings climbed 12% to R23.55 a share.
ARM, which releases its results on March 16, is a shareholder in Harmony Gold, with Motsepe also chairing that company.
ARM was linked last year to a possible deal with Harmony to become involved in the WafiGolpu copper and gold deposit in Papua New Guinea.
Harmony’s management is talking openly of looking for options around its 50% stake in the project, exploring bringing in a partner, selling the stake or keeping it and funding the billions of rand needed to build a mine there. ARM has recently sold a capital-intensive copper mine in Zambia, and Motsepe has said the company regards copper as a commodity in which it would like to invest.