JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The earnings of Valterra Platinum are set to soar, the Johannesburg- and London-listed platinum group metals (PGM) miner and refiner stated in a trading statement on Friday January 23, for the 12 months to December 31.

Valterra, headed by CEO Craig Miller, intends to release its 2025 results on February 25.

Headline earnings and headline earnings a share for the period are expected to increase by between 85% and 105% compared with the corresponding period of last year.

Headline earnings are likely to be between R15.6-billion and R17.3-billion compared with R8.4-billion in 2024 and headline earnings a share are expected to be between 5 941 c a share and 6 588 c a share compared with 3 205 c a share in the prior period.

Basic earnings and earnings a share for the 12 months to December 31 are expected to have increased by between 105% and 125% and basic earnings are likely to be between R14.5-billion and R15.9-billion.

A 26% stronger PGMs dollar basket price of $1 852 per PGM ounce has boosted earnings as well as operational costs being cut by R5-billion, which more than offsets the impact of inflation and R1.7-billion one-off demerger-related costs.

Sales volumes were lower than the prior period as a result of the larger drawdown of excess work-in-progress in the prior period and the significant flooding that occurred at the Amandelbult Tumela mine in the first half of 2024, which impacted mined and refined output. Insurance of R2.5-billion partially offset Amandelbult’s flooding impact.

Basic earnings were impacted by R1.9-billion, which represents 725 c a share non-recurring scrapping of assets related to the design and engineering work for the sulphur dioxide abatement plant at Mortimer Smelter and the Vaalkop tailings storage facility (TSF) owing to it being replaced by the Blinkwater TSF, which will provide adequate future tailings capacity.

Taxation and royalties increased in line with increased earnings.

Valterra, which has long-life mines, smelts and refines PGMs and associated co-products from its South African and Zimbabwean operations.

As a Johannesburg Stock Exchange- and London Stock Exchange-listed company, it has an integrated value chain bolstered by marketing hubs in London, Singapore and Shanghai.

As reported by Mining Weekly in December, Valterra’s market capitalisation has sky-rocketed to north of R300-billion and the company is continuing to look for new markets into which it can invest and which can utilise its products. The utilisation of PGMs in cleaner mobility is being expanded by fuel cell electric vehicle development, battery electric vehicle advances and more recently, in technological applications such as data storage and electronic chips.

It is keeping abreast of how the market is not only shaped by supply and demand, but also by financial flows and sentiment, and right now, the dynamics also point to a much tighter market, which could continue to see prices at the current higher levels for longer.