JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – As a result of the current weakness in the ferrochrome industry and the lack of demand for semi-coke products, JSE-listed miner Exxaro expects its headline earnings for the year ended December 31 to drop by between 65% and 73% – or R3.15-billion to R3.53-billion – year-on-year.
The company also attributed the losses to the expected decrease in equity-accounted income from investments owing to lower commodity prices, including iron-ore, mineral sands and pigment, as well as nonrecurring items recorded by these investments in 2015.
As such, headline earnings a share were expected to be between 888c and 995c apiece lower than the comparative year.
Group attributable losses for the year were likely to improve by between R1.1-billion and R1.19-billion, which would translate to the attributable losses a share, recorded in 2014, also likely improving by between 317c and 337c a share.
Meanwhile, the group also anticipated a decrease in its coal business’s net operating profit, owing to a R1.52-billion impairment and a decline in the carrying value of property, plant and equipment of the reductants operation of R225-million.