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LONDON (Alliance News) - Tharisa PLC said on Wednesday it lowered its full year dividend following a drop in profit for the period on higher costs, despite revenue growth.
The producer of platinum group metals and chrome concentrate lowered its dividend to 4 US cents per share, from 5 US cents the prior year.
Pretax profit for the year to the end of September dropped by 29% to USD65.0 million from USD91.0 million the year before, due to higher cost pressures.
In particular, administrative expenses for the period rose to USD39.2 million from USD26.9 million, and finance costs rose to USD10.2 million from USD7.7 million.
Revenue however, grew by 16% to USD406.3 million from USD349.4 million, buoyed by strong performances from the PGM and Agency & Trading divisions.
In the year, PGM production rose by 6.0% to 152,200 ounces from 143,600 the prior year, while chrome concentrate production rose by 8.8% to 1.4 million tonnes from 1.3 million tonnes.
Looking ahead, Tharisa's production guidance for the 2019 financial year is 160,000 ounces in PGM and 1.5 million tonnes in chrome concentrate.
"The management team is positive about the prospects for the year ahead and believes that with the various expansion plans, a strong focus on our mining division delivering quality run-of-mine and managing the extensive yellow fleet to original equipment manufacturer standards, economies of scale will be demonstrated through reduced unit costs and increasing operating margins," the company said in a statement.
