Impala Platinum has delivered its half-year report showing earnings fell slightly, although the firm enjoyed a jump in production.

A substantial increase in platinum production to 1.075 million ounces for the first half of the 2004 financial year, saw output swell by 39 per cent on the previous year's figures.

Implats' CEO,  Keith Rumble said, "Operationally Implats has performed well, with Impala Platinum producing as planned, and the Zimbabwean operations are now beginning to contribute to the bottom line. Although this notably higher level of production coincided with record dollar prices for platinum, this was insufficient to counter a 29% appreciation in the value of the rand in terms of the US dollar over the reporting period".

During the period the platinum price rose 28 per cent to $707 per ounce, but falls in the price of palladium (38 per cent) and rhodium (36 per cent) impacted profitability.  Platinum sales showed a 13 per cent increase.

The platinum group metal giant said that headline earnings per share for the six months to December 31 2003 fell 47.3 per cent.

Total capital expenditure for the period amounted to R876 million with R900 million planned for the second half of the year.

Implats said that it anticipated positive prospects in both the short and medium term, and said it expected demand for platinum to continue at current levels.

'[However] world supply may be somewhat constrained and a sixth year of supply deficit is possible in 2004,' the firm commented.

Implats says that it expects earnings will remain at around the same level for the full year, but says the final figure will be subject to any fluctuations in the rand basket price.