London - Johnson Matthey, the world's top supplier of catalytic converters, has lost out on discounts in a new supply agreement with miner Anglo American Platinum.
One of the main uses of platinum is in the pollution-curbing converters put in cars and trucks.
Johnson Matthey said on Friday it would retain a deal to buy platinum from Amplats, but a new agreement from the end of the year would no longer include discounts as the miner tries to curb mounting losses.
It said the loss of the discount would cost it 35 million pounds ($54 million) per year.
The company also said it had scrapped a separate deal with Amplats to promote platinum in new markets, but signed a new contract with the mining company to provide market research on the white metal.
Any restructuring of its precious metals products division and subsequent savings would not come until the end of 2013 at the earliest, it said.
Johnson Matthey's shares were trading down 1.8 percent at 11:04 SA time, changing hands at 2,257 pence, underperforming the blue-chip FTSE index.
Amplats, a unit of Anglo American, posted its first annual loss this month after a year marked by violent strikes, soaring input prices and lacklustre demand. It plans to mothball two mines and sell another, leading to a possible 14,000 job cuts. - Reuters