Sylvania Platinum Ltd (DI) (SLP)

Sector:

Mining

Index:

FTSE AIM All-Share

58.00p
   
  • Change Today:
    -1.00p
  • 52 Week High: 96.00
  • 52 Week Low: 50.40
  • Currency: UK Pounds
  • Shares Issued: 261.78m
  • Volume: 778,354
  • Market Cap: £151.83m
  • RiskGrade: 1,051

Sylvania Platinum confident in future despite market difficulties

By Josh White

Date: Tuesday 26 Oct 2021

LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Sylvania Platinum reported record platinum group metals (PGM) performance from Tweefontein in its first quarter on Tuesday, contributing towards Sylvania Dump Operations (SDO) achieving 15,771 4E PGM ounces in the three months ended 30 September despite the temporary production suspension at Lesedi, though that was down from 16,289 ounces quarter-on-quarter.
The AIM-traded firm said SDO recorded net revenue of $29.8m net revenue for the quarter, down from $48.4m in the prior three months, which the board put down to the impact of a 29% decrease in gross PGM basket prices.

Group EBITDA came in at $13.6m for the quarter, from $28.7m in the fourth quarter, while the firm's net profit fell to $8.6m from $14.7m.

Sylvania's cash balances improved to $132.7m from $106.1m.

The board said the temporary suspension of operations at Lesedi extended through the quarter, and would be ramped up to normal capacity towards the end of the second quarter, as hydro-mining of the affected tailings dam facility began at the end of September.

It added that lower-than-planned run-of-mine and current arising PGM feed grades and associated recovery efficiency at Mooinooi impacted ounce production during the quarter, with the company working with host mines to optimise grades at source.

Looking ahead, Sylvania said a higher throughput rate and recovery efficiencies achieved by Tweefontein, which set a new monthly SDO record of 2,209 production ounces during the past quarter, was expected to continue during the financial year, and would assist to mitigate the impact of Lesedi's lower production;

Construction on the new tailings dam facility at Lesedi was underway, with completion scheduled for the third quarter.

The secondary milling and flotation (MF2) projects at Lesedi and Tweefontein, meanwhile, were on track to start contributing towards production as planned during the 2023 calendar year.

Sylvania said it was maintaining strong cash reserves to allow the funding of capital expansion and process optimisation projects, as well as the safeguarding of employees during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and the upgrading of its exploration and evaluation assets, returning value to all stakeholders.

"I am delighted by Tweefontein achieving 2,209 ounces during September 2021, which is a new monthly record on both a plant level and across all operations and contributed towards a solid quarterly performance by the operations to achieve 15,771 ounces for the quarter, despite the interruption at Lesedi," said chief executive officer Jaco Prinsloo.

"Although the planned precautionary temporary stop at Lesedi has resulted in approximately 1,100 ounces production loss for the plant since early August, I have to commend our management team and consultants in terms of their efforts to ensure we preserve the integrity of the facility and for the measures put in place to resume production.

"The 29% reduction in PGM basket price had a significant impact on the revenue for the quarter and also resulted in a substantial sales adjustment for the previous quarter's production that was forecast at higher metal prices."

Prinsloo said the global computer chip shortage that was currently impacting new motor vehicle production and autocatalyst demand was "one of the most significant factors" driving the basket price movement.

"Most analysts only forecast this issue to be resolved by late 2021 or early 2022.

"PGM prices are however, still significantly higher than historical levels and by focusing on the areas that management can control, I am sure that we will continue to generate value to shareholders."

Prinsloo said there was a "steady uptick" in PGM feed source grade and recoveries, despite the receipt of a lower volume of plant feed in this quarter, and that the costs of production were showing some improvement.

"Our capital projects, fully funded from current cash reserves, are progressing well and I am optimistic that the results of these efforts will steadily show themselves as we navigate our way through the 2022 financial year, and we remain confident in attaining our annual production target of 70,000 ounces."

At 1144 BST, shares in Sylvania Platinum were down 1.01% at 107.9p.

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Note 1: Prices and trades are provided by Digital Look Corporate Solutions and are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

Note 2: RiskGrade figures are provided by RiskMetrics.

 

SLP Market Data

Currency UK Pounds
Share Price 58.00p
Change Today -1.00p
% Change -1.69 %
52 Week High 96.00
52 Week Low 50.40
Volume 778,354
Shares Issued 261.78m
Market Cap £151.83m
RiskGrade 1,051

SLP Star Ratings

Compare performance with the sector and the market.
more star ratings
Key: vs Market vs Sector
Value
19.05% below the market average19.05% below the market average19.05% below the market average19.05% below the market average19.05% below the market average
60.31% below the sector average60.31% below the sector average60.31% below the sector average60.31% below the sector average60.31% below the sector average
Price Trend
60.23% below the market average60.23% below the market average60.23% below the market average60.23% below the market average60.23% below the market average
9.09% below the sector average9.09% below the sector average9.09% below the sector average9.09% below the sector average9.09% below the sector average
Income
52.33% below the market average52.33% below the market average52.33% below the market average52.33% below the market average52.33% below the market average
56.52% below the sector average56.52% below the sector average56.52% below the sector average56.52% below the sector average56.52% below the sector average
Growth
81.43% below the market average81.43% below the market average81.43% below the market average81.43% below the market average81.43% below the market average
62.5% below the sector average62.5% below the sector average62.5% below the sector average62.5% below the sector average62.5% below the sector average

What The Brokers Say

Strong Buy 1
Buy 0
Neutral 0
Sell 0
Strong Sell 0
Total 1
strong_buy
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SLP Dividends

  Latest Previous
  Interim Final
Ex-Div 29-Feb-24 26-Oct-23
Paid 05-Apr-24 01-Dec-23
Amount 1.00p 5.00p

Trades for 28-Mar-2024

Time Volume / Share Price
16:12 133,559 @ 57.73p
16:27 260 @ 58.38p
16:20 2,000 @ 58.38p
16:16 3,426 @ 58.38p
16:15 9,456 @ 58.38p

SLP Key Personnel

CEO Johannes Jacobus Prinsloo
Chair Eileen Carr

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