000 ounces due to maintenance work blast

The South A rican Anglo Platinum, controlled to nearly 80 by Anglo American, has launched a se ere alert on its hal -yearly pro it. The global market leader o Platinum, which alone about 37 o the production, issued a press release announcing that its pro it in the irst hal would plunge rom 65 to 75 o er the irst six months o 2008.

The company, which, in 2008, brought to Anglo American 21 o its operating income, should see its quarterly pro it net exceptional items adjusted melt 90-99 on an annual basis. The collapse o the pro itability o Anglo Platinum is ZAR (South A rican currency) prices lower despite higher sales olume.

10,000 layo s

In the irst quarter, the irm posted a rate o 613.400 ounces o Platinum, an increase o 19 on the irst three months o last year. On the other hand, the production o re ined Platinum entered down almost 6, to 404.000 ounces, due to maintenance work blast. Throughout the year, Anglo Platinum expects to deli er 2.4 million ounces o the precious metals. As the sensiti e gap between the olds o net income and earnings net corrected, the mining group indicated that il succession o accounting or not re enues rom transactions carried out with M ela Resources and Anooraq. These two in estment ehicles o black interests linked to the ANC could act in accordance with the legislation in orce in the country which requires the trans er o a portion o the economic power to blacks.

John Parker, the new President o Anglo Platinum, will ha e di iculty to redress the bar in the second hal . or a ter a London analyst, about 40 o the production o the mining company generates negati e cash low in the current conditions o the Platinum market. As the rand, the currency in which are calculated most o the costs o Anglo Platinum, worth about 11 more than in the irst hal o 2008 to the greenback, unit o account o Platinum. The period is particularly hard or the leader o the platinum-group, because he is in ol ed in di icult wage negotiations with the unions o South A rican miners. His latest proposal is to raise wages by 7.5, but it was unlikely to be accepted.

Anglo Platinum must inally manage 10,000 redundancies in its mines by the end o the year. This is at the heart o its plan o cost reduction. The company is suspended to the e olution o supply and physical demand. In this connection, some signs o reco ery o the purchases appear. Chinese imports accelerated in recent months a ter strong price corrections. Most o them are controlled by jewellers, while the actual industrial demand remains weak.

or the record, Platinum is used to 55 or the manu acture o catalysis or automoti e systems. Jewellery, it accounts or 20 o the total purchases. End o 2009, the course o the Platinum cash had plunged approximately 750 $ an ounce a ter be mounted, in March 2008, o er $ 2,000. Today, it is co ers to about 1,150 dollars an ounce.

Morgan Stanley predicts or the current year the ormation o a surplus o 190,000 ounces about market a ter two consecuti e years o de icit: 80,000 ounces in 2007 and 375,000 ounces in 2008. In 2010, the Bank o case, market to rebalance by reducing the excess o the aggregate supply at only roughly 38,000 ounces.