Angloplats has stated that the shutdown of its Polokwane smelter in South Africa is likely to reduce its headline earnings by as much as R250 million.

However, the company has managed to reduce the losses incurred by the smelter shutdown, by selling from stockpiles.

As a result, the company believes it can now deliver full-year platinum sales of 2.51 million ounces, up from the 2.45 million ounces it predicted last month following the problems at the Polokwane smelter.

However, the revised figure remains down on the 2.6 million ounces predicted prior to the Polokwane difficulties and one analyst told Reuters that the increase on last month's prediction is "pretty marginal".

Last month Angloplats stated that it expects the work to restore full operation to the smelter to be completed by the end of November and claimed that normal operating conditions will be resumed by the end of the year.

Angloplats also pointed out that it had already scheduled maintenance to be carried out on the smelter during 2006, which could now be incorporated into the current repair work, providing the company with an opportunity to boost output during 2006.


Ÿ Adfero Ltd