Northam Platinum warns of profit fall as low PGM prices persist
Adds analyst in paragraphs 6-7
Aug 14 (Reuters) -South Africa's Northam Platinum NPHJ.J warned of a sharp fall in profit on Wednesday, saying it expected an uncertain global economic outlook to keep platinum group metal (PGM) prices low for "some time".
The company's share price fell 4% in early trade. The JSE wider index was 0.2% up at 0751 GMT.
It said its headline earnings per share for the year to June 30 could decrease by as much as 87% to between 3.24 rand and 5.66 rand from 24.15 the previous year.
This is mainly due to a 35.5% fall in the rand price for its metals and despite a 7.3% increase in sales volumes, Northam said in a trading statement.
"The current price environment may last for some time and this, combined with higher general inflation, is placing pressure on the entire PGM sector," Northam said.
Nedbank Group analyst Arnold Van Graan said Northam's operational performance, which increased refined metal output from its own production by 10%, had lessened the impact of low metal prices and kept unit cost increases below inflation.
"Lower metal prices and growth capex would have weighed on free cashflows; however, the company’s counter-cyclical growth strategy remains in place and is helping offset the impact of weaker PGM prices," Van Graan said in a note.
Metal prices are an issue across the sector.
Northam's bigger rival Impala Platinum IMPJ.J on Aug.7 said it will report a basic loss of up to 17.8 billion rand after lower metal prices led to $1 billion in impairments because its assets declined in value.
The world's biggest PGM producer Anglo American Platinum AMSJ.J said its profit fell 18% to 6.5 billion rand in the six months to June 30, weighed down by restructuring costs after it cut 3,700 jobs to reduce spending in addition to the impact of lower metal prices.
Northam will release its financial results on Aug. 30.
Reporting by Nelson Banya; editing by Barbara Lewis
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