JOHANNESBURG, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Platinum producer Lonmin will continue to review its services and reduce costs,mainly through cutting jobs, as the slide in the price of itsmain commodity bites further.
The company said labour costs fell 194 million rand ($11.8million) in the last three months of 2015 after it shed 5,077jobs, or 84.6 percent of its planned reduction in head count.
"Progress continues with the restructuring programme due tothe new benchmarked operating model and removal of high costproduction to ensure the business remains viable," Lonmin saidin a statement.
It is targeting savings of 700 million rand in 2016.
Lonmin, crippled by a record 2014 strike, rising costs and aplunging platinum price, raised $400 million through a cash callin December which failed to find favour with shareholders andpriced shares at about a penny each.
The miner said refined platinum production reached 171,441ounces in the three months to the end of December, an increaseof 22.6 percent from a year ago despite higher safety stoppages.
The price of platinum has been on the decline forroughly the past five years. It fell 26 percent last year and isless than half its 2011 peak.
($1 = 16.3897 rand) (Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; editing by David Clarke)