Kumba Iron Ore says profit could fall by up to 29% on lower prices, logistics woes
July 18 (Reuters) -Anglo American Plc's AAL.L South African iron ore unit Kumba KIOJ.J said on Thursday it expects its half year profit to fall by as much as 29% on the back of weaker prices and lower sales volumes caused by persistent logistics problems.
Kumba said in an update it expects headline earnings for the six months to June 30 of between 6.848 billion rand and 7.348 billion rand ($378-$405 million), down from 9.643 billion a year earlier.
Africa's top iron ore miner's average realised export price of $97 per wet metric ton during the half year was down 8.5% from the $106/wmt a year earlier.
Sales during the half year were 5% lower at 18.1 million tons due to port-related issues, Kumba said.
Production fell by 2% to 18.5 million tons, as the company curbs output due to limited capacity at troubled state-owned logistics firm Transnet, which is struggling to haul commodities to ports due to a shortage of locomotives as well as cable theft and other vandalism.
Kumba's iron ore stock piles stood at 8.2 million tons at the end of the half year, up from 7.1 million at the end of December 2023, reflecting persistent logistics bottlenecks.
The company is scheduled to publish its half-year financial results on July 23.
($1 = 18.1375 rand)
Reporting by Nelson Banya; editing by Jason Neely
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