Amplats declares R125 dividend
Anglo American Platinum has declared a whopping R125 final dividend as annual earnings soared on the back of strong metal prices and record production of refined product.
A final gross dividend of R125 per share consists of a base dividend of R49 per share – equal to a 40 percent of the headline earnings and in line with the company’s dividend policy – plus an additional, special cash dividend of R76 per share and equal to 60 percent of headline earnings.
The final dividend follows on an interim dividend of R70 per share plus a special dividend of R105 per share, declared in July last year.
This brings the total dividend for the year to R300 per share. For the year ended in December, Amplats benefited from a record platinum group metals (PGM) basket price which increased 22 percent to reach R44.51 per ounce and the company announced record earnings of R108 billion for the year.
Total production of PGMs was up 13 percent to 4.3 million ounces with solid production from all Amplats’ owned and managed operations and despite operating under Covid-19 conditions.
The company achieved record refined production which increased 89 percent to 5.1 million ounces due a strong performance across all processing assets and continued operational stability at the Anglo Converter Plant (ACP), a key part of the Amplats production process which was hit by a series of breakdowns in the previous financial year.
“Anglo American Platinum has once again delivered safe production and record operational and financial results, despite the ongoing effects of Covid-19 on our day-today operations,” said Amplats CEO Natascha Viljoen.
“We continue to drive for operational efficiencies across our assets to ensure delivery against our strategy, including progressing trials of technology at Mogalakwena to bring operational efficiencies and sustainability benefits, continuing with the modernisation and mechanisation trials at Amandelbult, and committed to investing capital to ensure asset reliability.” -news24.com.
