Johannesburg - Assore, the manganese and iron ore producer and joint-controlling shareholder of Associated Manganese, delivered results for the six months to December which showed a 148,3 percent leap in earnings to 216c a share.
But the stellar earnings failed to inspire the illiquid share, which is tightly held by directors and the Sacco family. The stock closed unchanged yesterday at R34.
The group was silent on the sale of Assmang's Dwaarsrivier platinum group metal (PGM) deposit. Assore's co-shareholder in Assmang, Anglovaal Mining, is bidding for the rights to mine the project with Impala Platinum.
Assore, which is managing the transaction, said in a statement the sale of the PGM rights was expected to be concluded in the current half of the financial year and would "significantly enhance Assmang's cash resources and ability to fund expansions internally".
About R892 million in capital projects were on track at Assmang's Nchwaining manganese mine in the Northern Cape, which was scheduled for completion in 2003 and the R375 million expansion at its Ferralloys' chrome division.
Des Sacco, Assore's chairman, was bullish in his outlook for the second half of the year, which he said was likely to at least match the first six months.
"This suggests earnings for the year of about 430c or about 35 percent up on the previous year's 320c," it said.
The benefits of a weak rand lifted the profitability of Assmang, the group's single biggest investment in the second half of last year.
Sacco called Assmang's operating performance "satisfactory", with manganese ore sales ticking up 8 percent to 612 000 tons, while iron ore sales declined 8 percent to 1,8 million tons.
"Alloy sales were down in respect of both manganese at 65 000 tons and chrome at 45 000 tons but significantly higher sales prices in rand terms raised margins and more than compensated with profits at R29,7 million against a R8 million loss in the previous year,"it said.
Turnover for the six months rose 49,5 percent to R556 million and operating profit by 122 percent to R90,1 million, driven by higher margins in a bullish phase of the commodity cycle. Attributable earnings more than doubled from R24,4 million to R60,5 million, and the interim dividend climbed 20 percent to 12c a share.
The company has R78 million in cash.
