Reuters reported that South African miner Metorex, the takeover target of Chinese metals group Jinchuan, reported 155% rise in H1 profit boosted by strong copper prices and higher output and forecast production at current levels.
Mr Terence Goodlace CEO of Metorex said that he expected demand and prices for the industrial metal to remain strong on the back of stressed supply. The copper price has been pretty resilient and from our perspective the fundamentals around copper are still very strong.
Metorex with operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia said that copper production during the 6 months to the end of June rose 5% to 26,562 tonnes while output of cobalt increased 18% to 1,890 tonnes. Similar production is expected until output at the company's Kinsenda project in the DRC starts by the end of 2013.
Mr Goodlace said that Metorex with a busy project pipeline and potential for expansion is also seeking to more than double its current annual copper production of around 50,000 tonnes although the timeline for the expansion is unclear. The new owners may take an accelerated view on the development of the company's projects.
He said that last week Metorex shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of accepting Jinchuan's ZAR 9.1 billion offer for the company. The takeover is still subject to regulatory approvals in South Africa, China, Zambia and the DRC which the company expects to complete by December. The miner will be delisted from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange after that.
Mr Goodlace said that the miner was not actively looking for any other assets while the takeover was being completed although he added that internally the company is always on the lookout.
Metorex reported adjusted headline earnings per share for the six months to the end of June rose 155% to 4.5 US cents. Headline EPS are the main profit gauge in South Africa and exclude certain one-time items. The figure excludes a non recurring amortization charge at its Ruashi mine of 0.6 US cents per share.
Mr Goodlace said that the company had resolved technical problems at its Ruashi copper mine in the DRC and although there were challenges with power supplies there, the situation was under control and there was no impact on production.
(Sourced from Reuters)
