By: African mining market

Northam Platinum has reported a 49.7% decline in half-year profit on lower metal prices and slashed its dividend by 85%.

The South African miner posted headline earnings of R238.24 million (US$12.89 million) in the six months to December 2024, down from R473.38 million previously.

It declared an interim dividend of R0.15, down from R1 previously.

Northam’s sales revenue decreased by 3.1% to R14.5 billion, reflecting the impact of lower metal prices, while the cost of sales increased by 6.9% to R13.4 billion.

“We operate a largely fixed cost business and consider increasing production, and doing so efficiently, to be our best defence against current global inflationary pressures and persistent weak metal prices,” Northam said in a statement.

Northam increased its refined platinum group metal output by 3.7% to 451,213 ounces during the six months to December 2024.