Tharisa PLC (LSE:THS, JSE:THA, OTC:TIHRF) confirmed that weak platinum prices had taken a toll on earnings in its latest financial year.
Platinum basket (PGM) prices dropped by 26% to US$1,893 an ounce on average over the year to end-September 2023, though chrome prices went the other way, rising by 25.8%.
Overall, annual revenue dropped by 5% to US$650 million with profits down by 48% to US$114 million.
Phoevos Pouroulis, chief executive, commented that it was a resilient performance given the challenges in platinum and South Africa’s power supply constraints and the rail and port logistics failure.
“The suppressed PGM basket price has far-reaching consequences to primary supply, with employment, expansion and investment all at risk," he said.
“Structural damage to the PGM supply side will be felt for some time and will ultimately result in an upward shift in prices.
“After a strategic review, we extended the Karo Platinum Project development timeline by 12 months to June 2025.
“We will keep this matter under review, and should conditions improve, we have the flexibility to accelerate development.”
For the current year, Tharisa said it expects to produce between 145,000-155,000 oz of PGMs and between 1.7Mt-1.8Mt of chrome.
A final dividend of 2c takes the total for the year to 5c.