CAPE TOWN - Jubilee Metals Group made “exceptional progress” across its portfolio of metal processing projects, delivering against targeted performance and bringing new operations online in the six months to June 30, chief executive Leon Coetzer said yesterday.
Highlights included a 75percent increase in combined first half revenue to R263.9million from the second half of 2018. Combined operational earnings increased 47percent R103.7m from the previous period.
The London and JSE-listed Jubilee’s share price was up 1.72 percent to 59cents on the local bourse yesterday.
The company is moving from reporting on a quarterly basis to a detailed consolidated six-monthly operational and financial review, which, according to a note from Shard Capital on Jubilee’s website, “will provide more clarity going forward while removing the onerous process of quarterly reporting”.
“Such a marked increase in revenue reflects our focus on increasing and diversifying our earnings base and maintaining strong margins. This has been achieved through a considerable uplift in production figures across our portfolio, both in chrome and PGMs (platinum group metals),” said Coetzer.
“Production of chrome concentrate increased significantly to 164936 tons, with both the DCM fine chrome and Windsor chrome (previously referred to as PlatCro) operations, brought on-line,” he said. Production of PGM reached 11559 ounces in the first half, with second quarter production delivering 6473 ounces.
The PGM recovery plant for the Windsor PGM project started commissioning in June, with the grinding circuit being brought into operation in July.
The Windsor PGM project delivered 212616 tons of PGM rich material, to the JV PGM recovery plant for further refining, in the first half.
Production of saleable PGM concentrates from the Windsor PGM project was expected to commence this month.
Acquisition of the Sable Zinc Kabwe Refinery to process the Kabwe material had become effective, and the target was to bring the copper refining line into operation during the second half of 2019.
Teams were bringing the Sable Zinc Kabwe Refinery on-line against accelerated timelines, which meant zinc, vanadium, lead and copper would soon be added to the firm’s commodity basket.
Earnings attributable to Jubilee increased almost six fold to R28.91m compared to the second half of 2018.