Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - Mining firm Anglo American Platinum Ltd hiked its interim dividend Monday after profit and revenue surged, amid steady production and robust platinum demand.
For the six months ended June, pretax profit at Anglo American Platinum - also known as Amplats - tripled to ZAR10.06 billion from ZAR3.20 billion the year prior. This was after revenue rose 28% to ZAR42.89 billion from ZAR33.49 billion the year before.
Profit performance was helped by revenue growing considerably faster than cost of sales, which expanded 12% to ZAR32.13 billion from ZAR28.58 billion the year prior.
"Anglo American Platinum has delivered safe, responsible and profitable production in the first half of 2019," Amplats Chief Executive Officer Chris Griffiths said.
"Anglo American Platinum continues to deliver PGM industry leading returns," Griffiths added. "This is a very much stronger business today because of the actions we have taken in recent years and I'm pleased to say that there are further opportunities to unlock full potential from our operations."
Amplats - which is 78%-owned by Anglo American PLC - proposed a ZAR11.00 per share interim dividend, more than triple the ZAR3.74 paid the year prior. Amplats has a dividend policy of paying out 40% of total earnings.
"We've seen steady production from our operations, though certain headwinds, including Eskom power shortages and strike action at Mototolo, have impacted our first half performance but we expect to see a stronger performance in the second half of 2019," Griffiths continued.
During the period, total platinum group metal production fell 2.3% to 2.15 million ounces from 2.20 million the year prior.
"The fundamentals of PGM demand remain robust, with the US Dollar platinum basket price increasing 16%, particularly for palladium and rhodium, and coupled with a weakening rand led to a ZAR platinum basket price increasing by 33%," Griffiths said.
