Tharisa annual profit up 7% as chrome prices jump

Tharisa reported a 7.3 percent increase in annual profit on Monday, as a jump in chrome prices offset the impact of weaker platinum group metal (PGM) rates.

The chrome and PGM miner’s headline earnings per share (HEPS), the most common profit measure in South Africa, was US$0.411 for the year ended September 30, compared with US$0.383 a year earlier.

Tharisa said PGM output rose 13.6 percent to 179,200 ounces, while chrome concentrate production increased 4.6% to 1.58 million tonnes.

The company said the average PGM basket price of US$2,564 per ounce was 16.6 percent lower than the record price reported in 2021 when the global economy started to emerge from Covid-19 lockdowns, pushing prices to all-time highs.

Tharisa, however, benefited from a 35.7 percent increase in the average chrome price during the reported financial year.

The company declared a final dividend of US$0.04, bringing the total dividend for the year to US$0.07, compared with US$0.09 in the previous year.-ebusinessweekly