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Assore Limited - Interim results for the half-year ended 31 December 2004

Release Date: 15/02/2005 15:24
Code(s): ASR
Wrap Text

Assore Limited - Interim results for the half-year ended 31 December 2004 ASSORE LIMITED (Company registration number: 1950/037394/06) Share code: ASR ISIN: ZAE000017117 INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE HALF-YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2004 * HEADLINE EARNINGS INCREASED FROM R23,7 MILLION TO R195,5 MILLION * HIGHER US DOLLAR PRICES EXPECTED FOR MANGANESE AND IRON ORES CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET At At At 31 December 31 December 30 June 2004 2003 2004 Unaudited Unaudited Audited
R" 000 R" 000 R" 000 ASSETS Non-current assets Property, plant, equipment and intangible assets 1 280 682 1 116 935 1 206 428 Environmental rehabilitation trust funds 13 694 12 884 13 503 Listed investments 188 258 183 304 165 715 1 482 634 1 313 123 1 385 646 Current assets Inventories 644 399 558 145 520 892 Trade and other receivables 409 049 324 482 485 113 Cash resources 178 183 133 460 166 263 1 231 631 1 016 087 1 172 268 Total assets 2 714 265 2 329 210 2 557 914 EQUITY AND LIABILITIES Share capital and reserves Ordinary shareholders" interest 1 755 632 1 428 255 1 549 309 Outside shareholders" interest 28 347 13 484 42 560 Share capital and reserves 1 783 979 1 441 739 1 591 869 Non-current liabilities Deferred taxation 284 139 227 229 240 576 Long-term liabilities 58 507 35 360 55 425 342 646 262 589 296 001 Current liabilities Interest bearing 317 222 424 744 379 166 Non-interest bearing 270 418 200 138 290 878 587 640 624 882 670 044 Total equity and liabilities 2 714 265 2 329 210 2 557 914 CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY Half-year ended Year ended 31 December 31 December 30 June 2004 2003 2004 Unaudited Unaudited Audited
R" 000 R" 000 R" 000 SHARE CAPITAL AND NON-DISTRIBUTABLE RESERVES Balance at beginning of period 39 012 29 459 29 459 Net increase in the market value of listed investments 22 031 36 152 18 065 Deferred taxation on changes in market value of listed investments (2 730) (5 484) (2 730) Foreign currency translation reserve (165) (1 845) (5 782) Balance at end of period 58 148 58 282 39 012 DISTRIBUTABLE RESERVES Retained income as previously reported 1 510 297 1 353 054 1 353 054 IFRS conversion adjustment - 118 236 Restated retained income 1 510 297 1 353 172 1 353 290 Attributable earnings for the period 199 787 23 801 169 607 Ordinary dividend paid (No. 95 aggregating 45 cents per share 2003 : 25 cents per share) (12 600) (7 000) (12 600) Balance at end of period 1 697 484 1 369 973 1 510 297 PER BALANCE SHEET 1 755 632 1 428 255 1 549 309 CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT Year
Half-year ended ended 31 December 31 December 30 June 2004 2003 2004 Unaudited Unaudited Audited
R" 000 R" 000 R" 000 Turnover 1 342 874 854 474 2 228 090 Net operating profit 330 583 72 141 329 501 Finance costs (15 316) (27 098) (25 765) Dividends received 1 768 1 957 5 057 Net profit before taxation 317 035 47 000 308 793 Taxation (101 959) (18 317) (99 583) Net profit after taxation 215 076 28 683 209 210 Outside shareholders" share of net profit (15 289) (4 882) (39 603) Attributable earnings transferred to statement of changes in equity 199 787 23 801 169 607 Earnings per share (cents) 713,5 85,0 605,7 Headline earnings per share (cents) * 698,1 84,6 583,7 Dividends paid per share (cents) 45 25 45 * Determination of headline earnings Attributable earnings per income statement as above 199 787 23 801 169 607 Net profit on disposal of assets (4 318) (125) (6 162) Headline earnings 195 469 23 676 163 445 Ordinary shares in issue (million) 28,0 28,0 28,0 Net asset value per share (Rand) 63,7 51,5 56,9 Capital expenditure (R million) 140,4 101,5 237,0 Capital commitments (R million) 178,5 189,7 204,3 CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT Half-year ended Year ended 31 December 31 December 30 June
2004 2003 2004 Unaudited Unaudited Audited R" 000 R" 000 R" 000 Cash generated from operations 234 049 22 391 225 690 Cash utilised in investing activities (130 841) (101 675) (232 003) Cash (utilised in)/generated by financing activities (91 288) 116 121 75 953 Increase in cash for period 11 920 36 837 69 640 Cash resources at beginning of period 166 263 96 623 96 623 Cash resources per balance sheet 178 183 133 460 166 263 DECLARATION OF INTERIM DIVIDEND Interim dividend No. 96 of 50 cents per share was declared on Tuesday, 15 February 2005. The dividend has been declared in the currency of the Republic of South Africa and, in accordance with STRATE, the following dates apply: The last date to trade to qualify for the dividend (and for changes of address or dividend instructions) will be Friday, 11 March 2005. The company"s ordinary shares will commence trading "ex" dividend from the commencement of business on Monday, 14 March 2005. The record date will be Friday, 18 March 2005. Dividend cheques in payment of this dividend to holders of certificated shares will be posted on or about Tuesday, 22 March 2005. Electronic payment to holders of certificated shares will be undertaken simultaneously. Holders of dematerialised shares will have their accounts at their Central Securities Depository Participant or broker credited on Tuesday, 22 March 2005. Share certificates may not be dematerialised or rematerialised between Monday, 14 March 2005 and Friday, 18 March 2005, both days inclusive. On behalf of the board Desmond Sacco C J Cory Chairman Chief Executive Officer Johannesburg 15 February 2005 COMMENTARY RESULTS Earnings for the six months to 31 December 2004 increased from R23,8 million to R199,8 million, due mainly to the significantly higher contribution from the group"s 45,7% interest in Assmang Limited ("Assmang"). The results of Assmang for the half-year ended 31 December 2004 were published on Tuesday, 15 February 2005, showing an increase in headline earnings for the first six months from R4,0 million to R353,0 million. The increase is directly attributable to significantly higher US Dollar prices for manganese alloys and increased sales volumes for manganese ore during the period. These increases resulted mainly from stronger demand in the Far East, in particular China, and turnover and commission income were affected accordingly. The higher earnings were achieved despite the stronger Rand/US Dollar exchange rate during the period, which strengthened on average from R6,98/US$ in the corresponding period of the previous year to R6,14/US$ for the period under review. SALES VOLUMES Sales volumes for the period under review are set out in the table below. Half-year % increase/ 31 December (decrease) 2004 2003
Tons Tons Manganese ore * 767 986 662 867 16 Iron ore 2 540 595 2 493 824 2 Manganese alloys 105 272 113 452 (7) Charge chrome 104 371 126 860 (18) *Excludes internal transfers to Cato Ridge Ferromanganese Works CAPITAL EXPENDITURE Assmang continued its significant capital expenditure programme during the period, spending R285,7 million (six months to 31 December 2003 - R208,1 million). Of this expenditure, R110,4 million was spent on the completion of the Nchwaning III shaft complex, which commenced production in the previous year and will shortly reach planned production levels. Other significant projects include the development of additional mineable reserves for the Iron Ore Division and the construction of the Dwarsrivier Underground Chrome Mine, which commenced with the initial phases of production in January 2005 and is expected to be completed in the 2005/2006 financial year. OUTLOOK Markets for the group"s products remain buoyant and tonnages for the remaining six months should exceed those of the period under review, in line with the continued strong demand from the Far East. Prices for manganese ore and iron ore are expected to increase during the remainder of the financial year while prices for manganese alloys are expected to weaken. However, earnings remain largely exposed to changes in the Rand/US Dollar exchange rate. DIVIDENDS The results in this announcement include the final dividend of 45 cents (2003: 25 cents) per share which was declared on 1 September 2004 and paid to shareholders on 27 September 2004. Based on the increased earnings for the period, an interim dividend of 50 cents (2004: 20 cents) per share was declared to shareholders on 15 February 2005. This dividend is not included in the results in accordance with the group"s accounting policies for dividends. ACCOUNTING POLICIES The financial information included in this announcement has been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). The accounting policies used are consistent with the previous financial period except that the group has adopted the requirements of IFRS with retrospective effect to 1 July 2003. The effect of this change was an increase in profit for the half-year under review of R118 000 as goodwill is no longer written off in accordance with IFRS. For the same reasons equity brought forward has increased by R236 000 and comparative figures have been adjusted accordingly. Directors Executive: Desmond Sacco (Chairman), R J Carpenter (Deputy Chairman), C J Cory (Chief Executive Officer), P C Crous (Technical and Operations) Non-executive: P N Boynton, B M Hawksworth, Dr J C van der Horst Alternate: J W Lewis (British) Registered office: Transfer office: Assore House Computershare Investor 15 Fricker Road Services 2004 (Pty) Ltd Illovo Boulevard 70 Marshall Street Johannesburg 2196 Johannesburg 2001 Company secretaries: African Mining and Trust Company Limited Sponsor Standard Bank Date: 15/02/2005 03:24:17 PM Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za Produced by the JSE SENS Department

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