JOHANNESBURG - JSE- and AIM-listed Jubilee Metals, posted a whopping 212 percent surge in interim attributable earnings to a record £30.9 million (R656 million) up from £9.9m a year earlier on a combination of higher output and metal prices.
Jubilee the Platinum Group Metals (PGM) and chrome processing company, whose operations include the Kabwe project in Zambia, said the main drivers for the higher attributable earnings during the six months ended December was the strong metal price environment and a 34 percent increase in platinum group metals (PGM) output to 28 287 ounces.
Chairperson Colin Bird said the group had benefited from its dual metal approach with the low chrome prices cycle being offset by PGMs, which had provided a robust upside as the PGM basket price demonstrated value increase.
“We, as a company, are able to react to changing metal prices on a short-term basis assuring that we maximise contribution from our various ore sources. Jubilee has achieved success in the chrome and PGM industry by combining experience and innovation with business acumen taking us to our current strong industry position,” Bird said.
Bird had a bullish outlook saying Jubilee expected 2021 to be another transformational year with South Africa maturing and Zambia evolving.
“We are confident that we can grow our earnings consistent with our internal forecast. At the same time, we recognise that resources companies are seldom faced with such broad ranging opportunities that we now see. It is our intention to maintain and accelerate our growth in challenging but exciting times,” Bird said.
During the period under review, Jubilee announced the acquisitions from various sources of some 300 million tons of copper/cobalt tailings as feed for the mid-term future.
“We intend to construct three new processing plants to process and recover the copper and cobalt in these resources targeting the production of 25 000 tons of copper once completed. The first of these processing facilities is dubbed Project Roan,” said Bird. At full capacity, Roan is expected to produce 10 000 tons a year of equivalent copper units.
Jubilee also commenced with the construction of an additional new 80 000 tons a month chrome beneficiation operation near its Inyoni PGM operations. The facility will consist of four integrated chrome recovery circuits to maximise chrome efficiencies and is expected to be fully commissioned within the second quarter of 2021.
No dividends were declared during the period under review.
Financial highlights included a 172 percent increase in attributable earnings from the PGM division to £26.4m from £9.7m with the PGM division posting production during December, despite the planned scale down of operations at Jubilee’s Eland Platinum JV PGM partner.
Chrome production for the six-month period was 72 percent higher at 319 834 tons of saleable chromite concentrate up from 186 249 tons in 2019 while chrome revenue increased by 27 percent to £ 11.6m from £9.12m in 2019.
BUSINESS REPORT