To view the PDF file, sign up for a MySharenet subscription.

LON - Lonmin Plc - Lonmin final results

Release Date: 14/11/2007 09:00
Code(s): LON
Wrap Text

LON - Lonmin Plc - Lonmin final results Lonmin Plc (Incorporated in England and Wales) (Registered in the Republic of South Africa under registration number 1969/000015/10) JSE code:LON Issuer Code:LOLMI & ISIN:GB0031192486 ("Lonmin") Lonmin Final Results 14 November 2007 Addressing Operational Challenges * A challenging year for Lonmin: * Sales of 793,584 ounces of Platinum and 1,490,184 ounces of total PGMs * EBIT of US$794 million down 5.7% on 2006 * Underlying earnings per share of 295.9 cents down 5.2% on 2006 * Safety performance continues to improve * Mineral resources increased by 27.1% and mineral reserves by 9.2% year on year enhanced by the completion of the pre-feasibility study at Limpopo and the addition of Akanani * Continued growth of mechanised shafts * Senior operational team strengthened with appointment of new President, Lonmin South Africa and new Executive Vice President, Mining * Drilling at Akanani continues to confirm our view of the potential of the project * Final dividend of 60.0 cents per share an increase of 9.0% reflecting the Board`s confidence in the fundamentals of Lonmin`s business Financial highlights - Continuing Operations 2007 2006 varianc Year to 30 September e Revenue US$m 1,941 1,855 4.6% Underlying EBIT (i) US$m 796 830 (4.1)% EBIT (ii) US$m 794 842 (5.7)% Underlying profit before taxation US$m 811 827 (1.9)% Profit before taxation US$m 705 633 11.4% Underlying earnings per share cents 295.9 312.1 (5.2)% (iii) Earnings per share cents 205.1 219.5 (6.6)% Dividend per share (in respect of cents 115.0 100.0 15.0% the year) (iv) Free cash flow per share cents 248.2 203.4 22.0% Equity shareholders` funds US$m 1,968 1,089 - Net debt US$m 375 458 - Interest cover (v) x 27.4 23.1 - Gearing (vi) % 15 27 - NOTES ON HIGHLIGHTS (i) Underlying EBIT is total operating profit adjusted for special items. (ii) EBIT is total operating profit. (ii) Underlying earnings per share are calculated on profit for the year excluding movements in the fair value of the embedded derivative associated with the convertible bond, exchange on tax balances, profit on the sale of Marikana houses, pension settlement surplus, amounts written off in respect of non core activities and, for 2006, an adjustment to the interest capitalised in prior years. (iv) The Board recommends a final dividend of 60.0 cents per share payable on 8 February 2008 to shareholders on the register on 11 January 2008. (v) Interest cover is calculated as Group operating profit excluding exceptional items divided by net interest excluding exchange. (vi) Gearing is calculated on the net borrowings attributable to the group divided by the net borrowings attributable to the Group plus equity shareholders` funds. Commenting on the results, Brad Mills, Lonmin`s Chief Executive said: "Over the last few years we have been modernising and transforming the Lonmin business, while we build in long term growth. In 2007 although we have had many successes, including achieving a market-leading safety performance, eliminating our over reliance on the Number One furnace and increasing our mineral resources by 27.1%, we have also encountered operational challenges and have made a number of changes which will address these issues. For the 2008 financial year we are currently forecasting sales of around 900,000 Platinum ounces. The fundamental quality of our asset base is robust and we are confident that we can resolve the issues we have faced to provide a solid foundation for long term growth. " Enquiries: Alex Shorland-Ball, Lonmin Plc +44 (0) 20 7201 6060 This press release is available on www.lonmin.com. A live webcast of the final results` presentation starting at 09.30hrs (London) on 14 November 2007 can be accessed through the Lonmin website. There will also be a web question facility available during the presentation. An archived version of the presentation, together with the presentation slides, will be available on the Lonmin website. Chief Executive`s Comments Introduction Operationally, the 2007 financial year was a challenging one for Lonmin with a significant shortfall against our original expectations for production. This has been as a result of a number of factors in both the mining and processing sides of our business. We have identified the problems and are well advanced in addressing many of them. Our Marikana Mining unit was impacted by the longer than usual Christmas break and industrial action during the year. We have continued to ramp up production from our new, fully mechanised, Hossy and Saffy shafts on the eastern side of the Marikana property and these shafts are performing in line with our expectations. Our concentrators produced a total of 869,832 saleable ounces of Platinum and 1,637,481 saleable ounces of total PGMs in concentrate during the year. Recoveries were impacted by the blend of the feed mix including higher than anticipated opencast tonnage and lower head grade. They were also affected by a continued shortage of skilled personnel. This led to a 3.5% decline in overall concentrator recovery year-on-year from 80.8% to 77.3%. The inclusion of more underground UG2 ore from the marginally lower grade eastern side of the Marikana operations, as we continued to grow our mechanised operations in that area, contributed to a decline in milled head grade from 4.85 grammes per tonne to 4.80 grammes per tonne (5PGE+Au). We have moved the management of the concentrators into the Process Division and with the help of the Six Sigma team, introduced a new model to optimise recoveries. In the Process Division, the outage of our Number One furnace in December had a major impact on our overall production and sales profile for the year. We have addressed our historic reliance on the Number One furnace with the re- commissioning of the Merensky furnace giving us an increase of 25% in our installed smelting capacity year on year. The addition of new and experienced management to the Process Division and our focus on operating discipline at the Number One furnace have reduced the risk of further incidents with that vessel. Despite the challenges, we have made significant progress in certain areas during the year. Our safety performance has continued to improve. We have strengthened our senior management team with the appointment of Alan Ferguson, formerly with BOC, as Chief Financial Officer; Mahomed Seedat, formerly with BHP Billiton as President, Lonmin South Africa; and Chris Sheppard, formerly with Anglo Platinum, as Executive Vice President in charge of our mining operations. The acquisition of the Akanani project on the Bushveld`s northern limb has added significantly to our long term growth profile, whilst at Limpopo we have significantly improved both our understanding of the resources and our confidence in its longer term value. Safety We have continued to make good progress with our safety performance recording a lost time injury frequency rate per million man hours worked for the year of 10.80, an improvement of 13.3% on the 2006 financial year. Our severity rate has also fallen to 10.48 days versus 13.81 days in 2006, an improvement of 24.1%. We regrettably suffered a total of three industrial fatalities at our operations during the year. Our focus at Marikana has been on promoting LTI free days and we achieved a record 93 LTI free days this year in comparison to 37 in 2006. We have rolled out the Incident Cause Analysis Methodology (ICAM) to cover all LTIs with the relevant Mine Overseer presenting the investigation into each incident to the senior operational team. We have introduced Safety Behaviour Observations across the business and this has been successful in visibly showing the commitment of all management to the safety of each Lonmin employee. In October 2007 we began a new mine wide safety campaign based on learning map technology which is designed to help achieve our goal of an injury free workplace by 2010. Marikana Mining The Marikana Mining Division mined 12.8 million tonnes for the full year, a decrease of 2.0% on the previous period after stripping out the effect of the additional seven days of production which were included in last year`s figures in order to align our production months with the calendar month. Of these tonnes 11.2 million came from underground, down 2.4% from the 11.5 million tonnes of underground mined in 2006, and 1.6 million from our opencast operations, down 0.9% on the total for 2006. Tonnage was below expectations as a result of the longer than usual Christmas period and industrial action. In February we lost one day to a wildcat strike and in August the operation was impacted by a 10 day illegal strike by the National Union of Mineworkers ("NUM"). We continued with the ramp up of our fully mechanised Hossy and Saffy shafts during the financial year. We have been pleased with the progress of these shafts and they are confirming our views of the safety, productivity and cost benefits of mechanisation. These shafts have increased production from 64,000 tonnes in 2006 to 461,000 tonnes this year or around 4% of our underground Marikana ore. Our current expectation is that our mechanised operations will produce around 17% of underground Marikana ore in the 2008 financial year. Since the year end we have strengthened the mining team with the addition of three new senior appointments. Chris Sheppard joined us on 1 October 2007 as Executive Vice President, Mining with responsibility for all our mining operations. In addition we have enhanced the Marikana mining team with the appointment of Frank Russo-Bello formerly with AngloGold Ashanti, as Vice President in charge of Conventional Mining and Dave Wright, formerly mine manager at Rio Tinto`s Palabora mine as Vice President in charge of mechanised mining. Both Frank and Dave report to Chris and joined us earlier this month. Limpopo Mining Our Limpopo operations produced 0.8 million tonnes mined during the 2007 financial year. Metal in concentrate production was 35,567 saleable ounces of Platinum and 73,600 saleable ounces of total PGMs. This is lower than our original expectations for the mine as we have continued to encounter difficult ground conditions at Limpopo including an Iron Rich Ultramafic Pegmatite (IRUP) in a section of the Merensky reef which was discovered during the later part of the year. These issues have confirmed the need to concentrate on development to ensure that we have sufficient flexibility to achieve sustainable production. This focus will continue into 2008. We continue to evaluate our options for the expansion of the Limpopo property following completion of extensive drilling on the site which has further increased our confidence in the reserves and the property`s longer term growth prospects. Pandora Joint Venture We continued to mine ore from the Pandora Joint Venture ground during the period through our E3 shaft and UG2 opencast operations. Our share of Pandora`s production was 0.1 million tonnes mined from underground (an increase of 28.0% on 2006) and 0.3 million tonnes mined from opencast (an increase of 63.4% on 2006). Lonmin purchases 100% of the ore from the Pandora Joint Venture and this ore contributed 52,479 saleable ounces of Platinum in concentrate and 98,133 saleable ounces of total PGMs in concentrate to our production, an increase of 53.5% on the prior year. In the short term we will continue to exploit E3 shaft and the opencast operations. The feasibility study for a stand alone Pandora project on a conventional basis, which underpins the full value of the asset, is still work in progress and we will be considering our options in consultation with our joint venture partners in due course. The Pandora Joint Venture contributed US$12 million of profit after tax for our account in the financial year. Concentrators We produced a total of 869,832 saleable ounces of Platinum in concentrate for the year, which was a fall of 9.9% on 2006, after stripping out the effect of the additional seven days in 2006. Milled head grade declined marginally during the year from 4.85 grammes per tonne to 4.80 grammes per tonne (5PGE+Au) as we continued to grow the Marikana mechanised shafts, processed more opencast ore and sourced 25% more ore than in 2006 from the eastern side of the Marikana property. During the year the concentrators experienced a decline in recoveries as we tried to manage the mix of feed including higher than anticipated opencast tonnage, the lower head grade and the continued shortage of skilled personnel. We are addressing this recovery issue and have moved the management of the Concentrators into the Process Division to ensure the right focus on planning and recoveries. We have also developed, with the help of our Six Sigma team, a new model for the running of the concentrators which, we believe, will allow us to improve recoveries as we manage more effectively the feed and mix across our 8 concentrators. Process Division On 18 December 2006 we had a burn through in the Number One furnace next to one of the matte tap holes. The investigation that followed indicated that a full rebuild of the furnace hearth was required. This was successfully completed during the second quarter of our financial year and the furnace came back online with its first matte tap on 30 April 2007. We completed the re-commissioning of our Merensky furnace on 12 March 2007 when we tapped matte for the first time. The addition of this vessel plus our three Pyromets now gives us 40 megawatts of installed capacity. This is a 25% increase on our 2006 installed capacity giving us surplus capacity in the Smelter in relation to our current production and much greater flexibility in this operation. During the Number One furnace outage we made a decision to stockpile as much concentrate as possible ahead of the Smelter for processing in the second half of the year. A proportion of Concentrate which we did not have the room to store was toll refined externally. Since 30 April 2007 we have run the Number One furnace and the Merensky furnace and have consumed substantially all of these concentrate stockpiles. The improved operational discipline introduced by the new management team in the Process Division has been evident in the performance of the Smelter. At our Base Metal Refinery ("BMR") we continue to upgrade the facility to reach our target throughput rate of 37 tonnes per day. The BMR performed well in the second half of the year with throughput of 5,276 tonnes of matte. The Precious Metal Refinery produced 695,842 ounces of Platinum and 1,289,857 ounces of total PGMs during the year, a decrease of 12.9% and 15.2% respectively on 2006 after stripping out the effect of the additional seven days in the prior year. In order to improve operational efficiencies we have increased our year end inventory by around 65,000 Platinum ounces, predominantly within the Base Metal Refinery. We estimate that, of this year end stock, around 46,000 ounces of Platinum will be added to our metal in process within the value chain to allow us to achieve stable steady state operations and 19,000 ounces should be released through the value chain in the 2008 financial year. In total we received back 93,609 ounces of Platinum and 174,378 ounces of total PGMs from toll treatment to give total metal sales for the period of 793,584 ounces of Platinum and 1,490,184 ounces of total PGMs. Six Sigma Our Six Sigma continuous improvement programme has delivered an additional R173 million of net EBIT benefit below the challenging target of R400 million we set ourselves. We won, for the second year running, the Best Achievement of Six Sigma in Manufacturing at the Global Six Sigma Awards. We now have a total of 7 Master Black Belts and 28 Black Belts within the programme and are progressing with the training of all our senior management team as Green Belts. We are continuing to work to improve cycle times for projects. Costs and Capital Expenditure Our C1 cost per ounce was significantly impacted by the lower production volumes at R3,165 per PGM ounce sold for Marikana net of base metal credits. This is 29.7% higher than last year with lower volumes being a key driver of this. Our C1 ounces reduced by 16%. The C1 cost per PGM ounce sold for Marikana and Limpopo combined was R3,434 net of base metal credits. The base metal credit per PGM ounce sold was R762. In common with the rest of the South African mining industry we have continued to experience cost pressures with substantial increases in the cost of power, water and other key consumables starting to impact the business. The shortage of, and difficulty in retaining, skilled labour has also increased the cost base as we have had to stay competitive in our packages for certain key skills. Our gross capital expenditure for the year was US$276 million which is lower than forecast. Looking forward to 2008 we expect our capital spending to be around US$400 to US$450 million. This will include some carry forward from 2007, spending at the Marikana operations on the completion of our K4 shaft and sub decline projects at Rowland and K3 plus initial work on our planned next generation of deeper shafts. At Limpopo we will continue to conduct work on our expansion of this property to the east. For Akanani we have included around US$20 million of capital to cover the planning stage on the project during 2008. Attributable Mineral Resources and Reserves Our directly attributable mineral resources increased by 27.1% versus 30 September 2006 primarily as a result of the addition of the Akanani resources which added an additional 30.0 million ounces of PGMs (3PGE+Au). Attributable reserves increased 9.2% to 51.3 million PGM ounces (3PGE+Au) with the completion of our pre-feasibility study on the Limpopo expansion significantly enhancing the Limpopo overall reserves. At Marikana the reserves and resources remained relatively consistent year on year as we continued to replace mined tonnes with further ore reserves. The table below sets out our reserves and resources as at 30 September 2007 versus the position at the end of 2006. The full reserves and resources statement including all the accompanying notes can be found on our website at www.lonmin.com. Attributable Mineral Resources (Total Measured, Indicated and Inferred) Area 30 September 2007 30 September 2006 Mt 3PGE+Au1 Pt Mt 3PGE+Au1 Pt
g/t Moz Moz g/t Moz Moz Marikana 644.4 4.94 102.3 61.2 650.4 4.94 103.3 61.5 Limpopo2 178.8 4.19 24.1 12.1 124.6 4.72 18.9 9.5 Akanani 269.7 3.46 30.0 12.5 - - - - Pandora 56.7 4.33 7.9 4.9 55.4 4.09 7.3 4.6 JV3 Loskop JV4 10.1 4.04 1.3 0.8 5.2 4.35 0.7 0.5 Total 1,159. 4.44 165.6 91.6 835.7 4.85 130.3 76.1 7 Attributable Mineral Reserves (Total Proved and Probable) Area 30 September 2007 30 September 2006 Mt 3PGE+Au1 Pt Mt 3PGE+Au1 Pt g/t Moz Moz g/t Moz Moz Marikana 331. 4.18 44.5 26.6 334.9 4.14 44.6 26.6 4 Limpopo2 64.3 3.26 6.7 3.4 20.3 3.58 2.3 1.2 Pandora 0.30 4.55 0.04 0.03 - - - - JV3 Total 396. 4.03 51.3 30.0 355.2 4.11 47.0 27.7 0 The Lonmin Mineral Resources and Reserves information was prepared on the following basis: 1 3PGE+Au = Pt+Pd+Rh+Au (Loskop JV excludes Rh). 2 Limpopo includes Dwaalkop JV, in which Western Platinum Limited (82% owned by Lonmin) has an interest of 50%. 3 Pandora JV: Eastern Platinum Limited (82% owned by Lonmin) has an attributable interest of 42.5% in the Pandora Joint Venture with Anglo Platinum, Mvelaphanda Resources and the Bapo Ba Mogale Mining Company. 4 Loskop JV: Western Platinum Limited (82% owned by Lonmin) has an attributable interest of 50% in the Loskop Joint Venture with Boynton Investments. 5 Incwala Resources owns 18% of both Western Platinum Limited and Eastern Platinum Limited and 26% of Akanani. 6 All quoted Resources and Reserves include Lonmin`s attributable portion only and the following percentages were applied to the total Mineral Resource and Reserve for each property: Area Marika Limpopo - Limpopo - Akanani Pandor Losko na Dwaalkop JV Baobab, a p Doornvlei, Zebedelia
Lonmin 82% 41% 82% 74% 34.85% 41% Attributa ble The 2006 Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves have been re-stated in order to reflect Lonmin`s portion only. 7 All figures are reported as metric tonnes (millions), grammes per tonne, percent or troy ounces (millions). 8 All tabulated data have been rounded to one decimal place for tonnage and content and two decimal places for grades. 9 Mineral Resources are inclusive of Mineral Reserves. 10 Mineral Resources are reported as "in situ" tonnes and grade and allow for geological losses such as faults, dykes, potholes and Iron Rich Ultramafic Pegmatite (IRUP). 11 Proved and Probable Mineral Reserves are reported as tonnes and grade expected to be delivered to the mill, are inclusive of diluting materials and allow for losses that may occur when the material is mined. 12 Mine tailings dams are excluded from the above Mineral Resource summary. 13 For economic studies and the determination of pay limits, an exchange rate of R7.25/US$ and the following metal prices were assumed: Metal Pt Pd Rh Ru Ir Au Metal Ni Cu USD/Oz 1,27 350 4,00 530 410 680 USD/to 33, 6, 0 0 nne 000 60 0 14 Dilutions are quoted as waste tonnes/ore tonnes in percent. 15 Unless otherwise stated, the Lonmin Mineral Resources and Reserves estimates were prepared or supervised by various Lonmin Competent Persons. Markets Most of the physical PGM markets, apart from Palladium, remained tight during 2007, as global demand for the metals from industrial applications, in particular in the autocatalyst sector, continued to grow. Supply remained constrained as the South African PGM industry, the world`s largest source of PGM production, continued to face challenges such as skills shortages as well as capital project cost and wage inflation. The Platinum market remains tightly balanced and continues to be supported by on-going demand growth for diesel autocatalysts, Platinum jewellery in China and the continued use of the metal in industrial and electronic applications. The Rhodium market remains tight due to strong demand from the autocatalyst sector, which contributes around 89% of demand for the metal, whilst supply remains constrained, as it continues to be produced mainly as a by-product of South African Platinum production. The autocatalyst sector remains the most important demand driver for Palladium although demand is also being supported by the jewellery market. South Africa remains the world`s dominant production source of other Platinum group metals, in particular Ruthenium and Iridium. The country continues to be critical in meeting the growing demand for the application of these metals in new and innovative industrial manufacturing technologies. Growth Profile Our growth in the period to 2012 will come primarily from the development of our mechanised shafts at Marikana and the completion of the Limpopo eastern expansion. The combination of these, and the steady rate of production from our deep shafts at Marikana will, we believe, allow us to reach production of around 1.2 million ounces of Platinum in 2012. This target and the detailed plans to reach it will be fully reviewed in the next few months by the new mining team. Marikana At Marikana we will continue the conversion to mechanised mining with Saffy and Hossy reaching full production in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Our K4 mechanised shaft on the western side of the Marikana property will come into production late in 2009 and at full production, which we anticipate will be around 5 years later, is planned to contribute an additional 180,000 Platinum ounces. These large new shafts, plus the extension of K3 and Rowland shafts, will offset the decline of a number of smaller, shallow shafts which are expected to deplete over the next few years. Limpopo Our existing Limpopo operations at Baobab shaft encountered an area of adverse ground around an IRUP body during 2007. This event resulted in a loss of ore reserves and to address this situation, we are focusing on development work through the IRUP body to ensure we can sustain our targeted production levels in the future. We completed a pre-feasibility study on the Limpopo expansion project in March this year confirming our view that the project could be developed as a fully mechanised mine. We have undertaken further work on the project since the completion of this study to look at the potential for a larger project on the property. Permitting for this project is underway. This new work will also look at short term opportunities to make optimal use of our existing concentrator capacity at Limpopo including the possibility of accessing ore from the expansion to the east where the reef is closer to the surface. Akanani In the second half of the year we continued drilling at the Akanani project (which is on the northern limb of the Bushveld complex) to increase our confidence in the mineral resource. The drilling in the southern section has continued to confirm the continuity of the mineralisation and the consistency of the grades and thickness. The results of the P2 in-fill drill holes completed since our interim announcement are set out below and show a weighted mean width of 20.88 metres at a grade of 6.06 grammes per tonne (3PGE+Au). Once the infill drilling programme is completed we will publish an updated mineral resources statement for the property. Work has commenced on mine design for high volume mechanised mining at Akanani looking at options which could range from 400,000 to 1 million tonnes hoisted per month. Borehole Drilled 3PGE+Au Cu Ni width (g/t) (%) (%) (metres) ZF015 13.27 2.62 0.16 0.25 ZF043* 25.60 5.51 0.17 0.36 ZF044* 35.98 9.64 0.17 0.34 ZF045 28.00 2.51 0.14 0.22 ZF046 11.74 8.31 0.21 0.40 ZF047 0.97 4.08 0.03 0.26 ZF049 30.64 6.25 0.12 0.24 Weighted 20.88 6.06 0.15 0.30 Mean * Average of two intersections In addition to the P2 section of the Platreef we continue to believe that the P1 mineralisation has significant selective mining potential which has been confirmed by our drilling of the P1 section of the reef to date. Recent drill holes indicated a width in this section of the reef of between 16.5 to 38.4 metres at grades of between 3.16 to 5.11 grammes per tonne (3 PGE+AU). Borehole From To Drilled 3PGE+Au Cu Ni width (g/t) (%) (%)
(metres) ZF044 1226.87 1264.56 37.69 3.16 0.09 0.14 ZF044 1282.52 1301.91 19.39 5.09 0.11 0.20 ZF044_ED1 1317.13 1333.59 16.46 4.41 0.18 0.27 ZF045 976.14 1014.51 38.37 5.11 0.20 0.31 ZF046 1018.46 1041.52 23.06 4.17 0.13 0.23 At the time of our acquisition of the project, the Platreef mineralisation had only been drilled along 3 km of strike in the southern section of the property. Since February a further fourteen drill holes have been completed along approximately six kilometres of strike in the northern portion of the asset. These drill holes indicate that the promising mineralisation continues along the entire nine kilometres of strike at the property. Set out below are the results of the 6 drill holes completed since our interim announcement in May 2007: Borehole Drilled 3PGE+Au Cu Ni width (g/t) (%) (%) (metres)
MO009 7.56 5.78 0.07 0.18 MO013 1.92 3.08 0.18 0.31 MO014 26.27 1.99 0.10 0.17 MO016 0.86 4.62 0.05 0.08 MO019 3.45 2.66 0.04 0.06 MO020 24.34 3.07 0.09 0.16 New Order Mining Licence A fundamental part of security of tenure for mining in South Africa is the conversion of Old Order Mining Rights to New Order Mining Rights, under the country`s mining legislation effective 1 April 2004. In October 2006, we achieved conversion of our Marikana mining rights. These give us the right to mine at Marikana for 30 years, with an option to renew the licence for an additional 30 years. The table below lays out the status of licensing for our major projects: Project Current Current Status of Effective Rights/Permits Conversion BEE
Ownership Marikana New Order Mining Converted 18% Rights Limpopo - Baobab Old Order Mining Application for 18% shaft Right conversion of Old Order Mining Right submitted in March 2007.
Limpopo - Expansion Converted Application for New 59% (Dwaalkop) Prospecting Order Mining Rights to Right which is be submitted in currently November 2007.
subject to a Renewal Application
Limpopo - Expansion Old Order Mining Application for 18% (Doornvlei) Right conversion of Old Order Mining Right being drafted with submission
anticipated in first quarter of 2008. Pandora Joint Old Order Mining Application for 15% Venture Right conversion of Old Order Mining Right submitted in 2006. Processing ongoing due to
amendments made to initial documents submitted.
Akanani Converted Application for New 26% Prospecting Order Mining Right will Right be made following completion of pre-
feasability study Dividend The Board has recommended a final dividend of 60.0 cents per share, an increase of 9.0% on the final dividend last year, reflecting the Board`s confidence in the fundamentals of Lonmin`s business. This gives a full year dividend in respect of the year of 115.0 cents per share up 15.0% on 2006. Outlook and 2008 Guidance We currently anticipate sales for the 2008 financial year will be around 900,000 ounces of Platinum. 2008 will be a year of consolidation as we continue to grow our mechanised mining at Marikana with forecast production increasing from our mechanised operations to around 17% of underground ore mined at Marikana. The continuing ramp-up of our mechanised Hossy and Saffy shafts will contribute to the mix and grade impact we saw in 2007 continuing into 2008 with our growth at Marikana next year coming predominantly from the eastern side of the operation. We are conducting a review of the ongoing viability of our opencast pits given their impact on concentrator recoveries and increasing costs. However, we are currently planning for these pits to continue to contribute during 2008. At Limpopo the emphasis on development will continue. In the Process Division we will focus on improving recoveries across the value chain with a strong focus on our Concentrators. We expect the current challenging cost environment will continue in 2008. South African inflation in the mining sector for both operating costs and capital projects is accelerating rapidly due to the combined impact of the mining boom, construction boom, and 2010 World Cup infrastructure spend. The labour market for all skills at artisan level and above is very competitive with overall industry wage settlements increasing at double digit annual rates. Utility costs are rising rapidly as are the costs of basic materials such as steel, lubricants and fuel. These factors, plus the current stronger South African Rand, will increase unit costs in 2008. We are currently forecasting that our C1 costs before base metal credits for the 2008 financial year will be 15% ahead of the R4,196 in 2007 and base metal credits per PGM ounce sold will be in line with that recorded in 2007. The contribution of Lonmin employees, contractors and community members during the last year is highly valued and their hard work and dedication is greatly appreciated. The markets for Platinum and our other key metals continue to look robust and we have added further growth to our portfolio with the acquisition of Akanani. We are taking actions to address the operational issues we have encountered in the last twelve months and are confident that this work will strengthen the company and build a solid foundation for our long term growth plans. Bradford A Mills Chief Executive 14 November 2007 Financial Review Introduction The financial information presented has been prepared on the same basis and using the same accounting policies as those used to prepare the financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2006. Analysis of results Income Statement A comparison of the 2007 total operating profit with the prior year is set out below: $m Total operating profit - 2006 842 Less profit on sale of houses - 2006 (special) (12) Underlying operating profit - 2006 830 PGM price 345 PGM volume (303) PGM mix (28) Base metals 52 Cost changes (after foreign exchange benefit) (100) Underlying operating profit - 2007 796 Sale of houses, pension refund and impairment (2) loss - 2007 (special) Total operating profit - 2007 794 The 2006 total operating profit of $842 million benefited from $12 million of gains arising on the disposal of company housing and therefore underlying operating profit for 2006 was $830 million. The metal markets have continued to strengthen in 2007 for both PGMs and base metals. The average price per PGM ounce has increased 23% to $1,196 per ounce resulting in an additional $345 million of profit generated. This year has however been a challenging one in terms of production for a number of reasons including the Number One furnace being out of action for quarter two, lower concentrator recoveries and industrial action towards the end of the year. In addition a decision was taken not to sell semi-finished product at the year end as part of a strategy to achieve more steady state production flows. As a result of these factors PGM sales were down by nearly 309,000 ounces and operating profit was adversely affected by $303 million. In addition the PGM mix was unfavourable with the proportion of highly priced Rhodium ounces falling from 7.5% to 7.0% of the ounces sold. Base metal revenues were up $52 million entirely driven by Nickel for which volume was up 15% and price up 47%. After other cost changes of $100 million, which are explained in more detail below, the resulting underlying operating profit was $796 million, down 4% on the prior year. Total operating profit for 2007 was $794 million after allowing for a number of small special gains and losses. Other cost changes (increase) / decrease: $m
Safety, health, environment and community (28) Exploration, development and marketing (16) Shared services and support functions (19) Productive costs (67) Toll fees (18) Royalties (7) Share based payments (18) Depreciation and amortisation (6) Foreign exchange 79 (100) We recognise the vital role we have in caring for our employees both within the work environment and in the wider community and have spent an incremental $28 million this year. Safety has remained a major area of focus and we have invested in both training programmes and equipment. We have run a major AIDs / HIV testing programme and nearly 14,000 employees have been tested and know their status. The anti-retroviral programme to support employees has been extended and the general medical scheme has been improved. The company has also developed a major learning programme to improve basic educational skills, including literacy, of the workforce. In 2007 on average some 500 employees were enrolled on the course and this is expanding to 750 in 2008. The business has also been strengthened in the year through other forward- looking investments. Our exploration expenditure has increased by more than 50%. We have also increased our marketing spend with particular focus in the jewellery sector and we are investing in development programmes with pre- feasibility projects for metallurgical expansion and Limpopo. Costs of shared services and other functions which support the business have also been increased this year. In part this reflects recognition that these areas need to be expanded to cope with a more complex environment. IT costs for example have increased reflecting the costs of operating new ERP and metallurgical systems. The Human Capital function is being expanded to enhance capabilities in areas such as labour welfare and labour relations. The Group also recognised in the year that strategic and production planning needed to be enhanced and is developing and broadening this function. Productive costs increased by some $67 million in the period. This principally arose from inflationary pressures in the mining sector in South Africa, however, some other factors were at play. Opencast contracting costs increased driven by increases in UG2 ore content and ore transport costs increased due to the production shifts across the property. Also the business experienced higher levels of labour absenteeism which necessitated increased staff numbers and resulted in lower productivity. A number of other specific areas impacted costs. Outside toll-refining was utilised to process some 12% of our metallurgical production as a direct result of the smelter burn through and this resulted in some $18 million of charges. The increase in profits derived from the Eastern side of the property due to higher tonnes mined has lead to an increase in royalties of $7 million. Furthermore, the cost of share based payments increased by $18 million driven by a number of factors including the impact of the GBP11 increase in share price on cash-settled schemes, the impact of accelerated vesting and the new co- investment plan. Foreign exchange has been a strong positive factor with costs benefiting $79 million due to an 8% weaker Rand against the Dollar in 2007. The Rand has however appreciated considerably at the start of 2008 and, if continued, this will have a significantly adverse effect on 2008 reported costs in Dollar terms. The C1 cost per PGM ounce sold net of by-product credits on own production from the Marikana operations amounted to R3,165 for 2007 compared with R2,441 for 2006, an increase of 30% despite the benefit of improved base metal credits (up from R400/oz to R762/oz). Rand costs incurred on C1 ounces increased by 13%. The C1 cost per ounce increased significantly due to high levels of fixed costs being spread over fewer ounces as sales of C1 ounces fell by 18%. Further details of unit costs analysis can be found in the operating statistics table within the Annual Review. Summary of net finance costs 2007 2006 $m $m
Net interest charges (29) (36) Capitalised interest 23 16 Prior years capitalised - 21 interest adjustment Movement in fair value of embedded (104) (227) derivative of convertible bond Other 3 (2) Net finance expenses (107) (228) Net interest charges have fallen by $7 million due to a lower average net debt versus the prior year and therefore interest cover has strengthened to 27.4 times (2006 - 23.1 times). Capitalised interest for the period has increased to $23 million of which $13 million relates to the acquisition funding of the Akanani asset. A key change in the year has been the redemption of the convertible bond following the notice issued by the company in November 2006. Movements in fair value of the embedded derivative have been recognised to the point of conversion resulting in a lower charge at $104 million in the period. Net finance expenses in 2007 were therefore $107 million compared with $228 million in 2006. Profit before tax amounted to $705 million in 2007 compared with $633 million in 2006 reflecting the operating profit decrease of $48 million which was more than offset by the improvement in net finance expenses. The 2007 tax charge was $297 million compared with $202 million in 2006. The corporate tax rate in South Africa has remained at 29% during the year. The effective tax rate, excluding the effects of exchange and special items, was 31% compared with 34% last year. The key reason for the reduction is the overseas taxes on dividends which fell by $29 million reflecting lower levels of dividends remitted in the year by subsidiaries. This is largely a timing difference which is expected to reverse in 2008 although the rate on such remissions has been reduced from 12.5% to 10.0% with effect from 1 October 2007. The overall tax charge includes a debit of $51 million on the translation adjustment of the current and deferred tax balances resulting from the 12% appreciation of the closing Rand/Dollar exchange rates at the respective year ends. Profit for the year attributable to equity shareholders amounted to $314 million (2006 - $313 million) and earnings per share were 205.1 cents compared with 219.5 cents in 2006. Underlying earnings per share, being earnings excluding special items, amounted to 295.9 cents (2006 - 312.1 cents). Balance sheet A reconciliation of the movement in equity shareholders` funds is given below. $m
Equity shareholders` funds - 2006 1,089 Total recognised income 392 Conversion of the convertible bond 587 Other share issues 70 Dividends (171) Other 1 Equity shareholders` funds - 2007 1,968 Equity interests were $1,968 million at 30 September 2007 compared with $1,089 million at 30 September 2006. The total recognised income attributable to equity shareholders of Lonmin Plc for the year was $392 million. The conversion of the convertible bond into equity generated $216 million of share capital and share premium as well as the reversal of $371 million of fair value adjustments previously charged to the income statement. Further share capital and premium of $70 million was generated by the issuance of shares under option schemes for $33 million and through an equity investment by the IFC. Dividend payments in the period totalled $171 million made up of $85 million for the 2006 final and $86 million for the 2007 interim dividend. On 26 January 2007 the Group acquired 94% of AfriOre Limited with a compulsory acquisition of the remaining shares by 16 February 2007. Total consideration paid was $413 million against net assets acquired under Group accounting policies of $15 million. This has therefore resulted in the recognition of $611 million of exploration and evaluation assets, $73 million of goodwill, a deferred tax liability of $173 million and the minority interest share of the fair value uplift of $113 million as required by IFRS. Net debt amounted to $375 million at 30 September 2007 with the components being bank loans of $596 million offset by cash net of overdrafts of $221 million. Net debt has reduced in the period from $458 million with the net cash outflows of $137 million being offset by the bond conversion. Gearing was 15% compared with 27% at 30 September 2006, calculated on net borrowings attributable to the Group divided by those attributable net borrowings and the equity interests outstanding at the balance sheet date. Cash flow The following table summarises the main components of the cash flow during the year: 2007 2006 $m $m
Operating profit 794 842 Depreciation and 87 81 amortisation Change in working capital 81 (202) Other 21 1 Cash flow from operations 983 722 Interest and finance costs (25) (31) Tax (266) (185) Trading cash flow 692 506 Capital expenditure (276) (182) Proceeds from assets held 5 28 for sale Dividends paid to minority (41) (62) Free cash flow 380 290 Acquisitions (393) (14) Financial investments (21) (36) Shares issued 68 15 Equity dividends paid (171) (124) Cash inflow / (outflow) (137) 131 Opening net debt (458) (585) Bond conversion 213 - Exchange 7 (4) Closing net debt (375) (458)
Trading cash flow (cents 354.9c per share) 452.0c Free cash flow (cents per 203.4c share) 248.2c Despite the fall in operating profit cash flow from operations for 2007 was $983 million, a 36% increase on last year`s figure of $722 million. This was mainly due to an inflow on working capital of $81 million compared with an outflow of $202 million last year. The large outflow in 2006 was as a result of an increase of $249 million in debtors due to concentrate sales at the end of the year. During this year there has been a $58 million decrease in debtors. After interest and finance costs of $25 million and tax payments of $266 million, trading cash flow amounted to $692 million in 2007 against $506 million in 2006, with trading cash flow per share of 452.0 cents in 2007 against 354.9 cents in 2006. Capital expenditure of $276 million was incurred during the year, up $94 million on the prior year. This was, however, lower than the $300 million expected and most of this shortfall relates to timing differences which will flow into 2008. Free cash flow amounted to $380 million with free cash flow per share at 248.2 cents (2006 - 203.4 cents). Acquisitions of $393 million in 2007 represented the purchase of AfriOre Limited as described above net of $20 million cash acquired. Proceeds from shares issued were up $53 million as, in addition to shares issued in respect of share schemes, a $35 million equity investment was made by the IFC which was at a 5% discount to market price. After equity dividends paid of $171 million, the cash outflow during 2007 was $137 million and net debt amounted to $375 million at 30 September 2007. Dividends As dividends are now accounted for on a cash basis under IFRS the dividend shown in the accounts represents the 2006 final of 55 cents and the 2007 interim of 55 cents making a total of 110 cents for the year. In addition the Board recommends a final 2007 dividend of 60 cents (2006 - 55 cents). Financial risk management The Group`s functional currency remains the US Dollar and the share capital of the Company is based in US Dollars. The Group`s business is mining and it does not undertake trading activity in financial instruments. Interest rate risk Monetary assets and liabilities are subject to the risk of movements in interest rates. The borrowings at 30 September 2007 comprised $296 million of borrowings in the UK, of which $237 million was drawn under an acquisition facility on the purchase of AfriOre, and in South Africa a long-term bank loan of $300 million was drawn together with an overdraft of $1 million. Cash deposits represented balances of $12 million in the UK and $210 million in South Africa. Liquidity risk Liquidity risk measures the risk that the Group may not be able to meet its liabilities as they fall due and, therefore, its ability to continue trading. The Group`s policy on overall liquidity is to ensure that there are sufficient committed facilities in place which, when combined with available cash resources, are sufficient to meet the funding requirements in the foreseeable future. At the 2007 year end the Group had $1,450 million of committed facilities in place of which $596 million were drawn down. Foreign currency risk Foreign currency risk arises when movements in exchange rates, particularly the US Dollar against the South African Rand, affect the transactions the Group enters into, reported profits and net assets. Most of the Group`s operations are based in South Africa and the majority of the revenue stream is in US Dollars. However the bulk of the Group`s costs, and taxes, are in Rand. Most of the cash held in South Africa is in US Dollars and is normally remitted to the UK on a regular basis. Short-term working capital facilities required in South Africa are drawn primarily in US Dollars. Fluctuations in the Rand to US Dollar exchange rate can have a significant impact on the Group`s results. A strengthening of the Rand against the US Dollar has an adverse effect on profits due to the majority of costs being denominated in Rand. The approximate effect on the Group`s results of a 10% movement in the Rand to US Dollar 2007 year average exchange rate would be as follows: EBIT +/- $83m Profit for +/- $48m the year EPS (cents) +/- 31.4c These sensitivities are based on 2007 prices, costs and volumes and assume all other variables remain constant. They are estimated calculations only. Commodity price risk Commodities are traded on worldwide commodities markets and are subject to price fluctuations. Therefore the prices obtained are dependent upon the prevailing market prices. Any change in prices will have a direct effect on the Group`s trading results. Forward sales are undertaken where the Board determines that it is in the Group`s interest to hedge a proportion of future cash flows. The Group has undertaken a limited number of forwards on Nickel and Copper by- product sales as disclosed in note 21 to the financial statements. The approximate effects on the Group`s results of a 10% movement in the 2007 year average market prices for Platinum (Pt), Palladium (Pd), Rhodium (Rh) and Nickel (Ni) would be as follows: Pt Pd Rh Ni EBIT +/- $96m +/- $12m +/- $60m +/- $14m Profit for +/- $56m +/- $7m +/- $35m +/- $8m the year EPS (cents) +/- 36.5c +/- 4.6c +/- 22.7c +/- 5.4c The above sensitivities are based on 2007 volumes and assume all other variables remain constant. They are estimated calculations only. Fiscal risk Changes in governmental fiscal policy in the territories in which the Group operates will impact on Group profitability. In South Africa the Government has been drafting and debating a Royalty Bill which will come into effect on 1 May 2009. As currently drafted this Bill would see a royalty based on revenue with a rate of 3% for refined Platinum group metals. Alan Ferguson Chief Financial Officer 14 November 2007 Operating Statistics - 5 Year Review 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
Uni Restat Restat Restat Restat ts ed ed ed ed Tonnes mined Marikana Undergrou 000 11,211 11,484 10,921 11,053 11,450 nd Opencast 000 1,597 1,583 2,653 2,730 2,880 Limpopo Undergrou 000 757 857 212 N/A N/A nd Opencast 000 - 14 - N/A N/A Pandora attributable2 Undergrou 000 128 100 54 7 N/A nd
Opencast 000 286 175 - - N/A Lonmin Platinum Undergrou 000 12,096 12,441 11,187 11,060 11,450 nd Opencast 000 1,883 1,772 2,653 2,730 2,880
Total 000 13,979 14,213 13,840 13,790 14,330 % tonnes mined from % 72.0 71.2 74.3 82.4 81.6 UG2 reef Tonnes milled3 Marikana Undergrou 000 11,216 11,502 10,975 11,103 11,418 nd Opencast 000 1,469 1,854 2,444 3,283 2,790 Limpopo Undergrou 000 781 887 214 n/a n/a nd Opencast 000 - 14 n/a n/a n/a Pandora4 Undergrou 000 301 236 127 18 n/a nd
Opencast 000 649 394 - - n/a Ore Purchases5 Undergrou 000 75 14 - - - nd Opencast 000 20 18 - - -
Lonmin Platinum Undergrou 000 12,373 12,639 11,316 11,121 11,418 nd Opencast 000 2,138 2,280 2,444 3,283 2,790 Total 000 14,511 14,919 13,760 14,404 14,208
Milled head grade Marikana Undergrou g/t 4.98 5.00 4.98 5.00 5.00 nd Opencast g/t 4.11 4.25 4.88 4.86 4.95
Limpopo Undergrou g/t 3.50 4.09 3.84 n/a n/a nd Opencast g/t - 3.29 n/a n/a n/a Pandora Undergrou g/t 4.88 5.05 4.54 4.89 n/a nd Opencast g/t 5.33 4.92 n/a n/a n/a Ore Purchases Undergrou g/t 3.92 3.92 n/a n/a n/a nd
Opencast g/t 5.16 4.14 n/a n/a n/a Lonmin Platinum Undergrou g/t 4.88 4.94 4.95 5.00 5.00 nd Opencast g/t 4.39 4.36 4.88 4.86 4.95
Total g/t 4.80 4.85 4.94 4.97 4.99 Metals in concentrate6 Lonmin Platinum Platinum oz 869,83 964,95 908,97 n/c n/c 2 8 2 Palladium oz 404,53 447,89 397,54 n/c n/c 5 4 6 Gold oz 25,030 31,973 22,269 n/c n/c
Rhodium oz 114,60 125,37 115,43 n/c n/c 1 9 6 Ruthenium oz 182,32 198,49 187,96 n/c n/c 6 1 7
Iridium oz 41,157 41,284 38,465 n/c n/c Total oz 1,637, 1,809, 1,670, n/c n/c PGMs 481 979 655 Nickel7 mt 4,636 5,120 4,042 n/c n/c
Copper7 mt 2,814 3,104 2,498 n/c n/c Uni 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 ts Restated Restate Restate Restate d d d
Metallurgical production Lonmin refined metal production Platinum oz 695,842 799,070 796,082 771,913 831,936 Palladium oz 318,758 369,859 348,681 334,371 377,982 Gold oz 20,485 20,955 17,059 13,828 14,012 Rhodium oz 88,469 115,453 87,632 79,877 121,334 Ruthenium oz 135,873 174,639 172,610 144,004 184,470 Iridium oz 30,430 40,836 25,110 27,204 31,763 Total PGMs oz 1,289,857 1,520,812 1,447,1 1,371,1 1,561,4 74 97 97
Toll refined metal production Platinum oz 93,609 - 46,354 61,909 100,931 Palladium oz 43,274 - 21,115 24,334 39,436 Gold oz - - 731 411 (592) Rhodium oz 12,966 - 7,133 10,135 19,180 Ruthenium oz 20,439 - 11,524 20,436 32,245 Iridium oz 4,090 - 2,263 3,338 5,060 Total PGMs oz 174,378 - 89,120 120,563 196,260 Total refined PGMs Platinum oz 789,451 799,070 842,436 833,822 932,867 Palladium oz 362,032 369,859 369,796 358,705 417,418 Gold oz 20,485 20,955 17,790 14,239 13,420 Rhodium oz 101,435 115,453 94,765 90,012 140,514 Ruthenium oz 156,312 174,639 184,134 164,440 216,715 Iridium oz 34,520 40,836 27,373 30,542 36,823 Total PGMs oz 1,464,235 1,520,812 1,536,2 1,491,7 1,757,7 94 60 57 Base metals Nickel8 mt 4,522 4,342 4,187 3,098 3,876 Copper8 mt 2,466 2,452 2,547 1,965 2,284 Capital expenditure Rm 1,923 1,207 1,180 1,230 1,294 $m 276 182 190 187 162 Uni 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
ts Restated Restat Restated Restated ed Sales Refined metal sales Platinum oz 786,552 803,471 838,85 858,211 903,077 9 Palladium oz 362,077 373,303 364,08 366,988 405,073 0
Gold oz 24,449 22,133 18,122 18,498 17,557 Rhodium oz 102,916 116,281 93,453 103,641 131,752 Ruthenium oz 162,853 179,557 183,37 192,635 231,131 2
Iridium oz 37,858 38,092 26,676 36,390 39,797 Total PGMs oz 1,476,70 1,532,837 1,524, 1,576,36 1,728,387 5 562 3 Concentrate and other9 Platinum oz 7,032 136,183 71,396 80,032 - Palladium oz 3,232 61,110 37,003 36,999 - Gold oz 201 4,641 2,362 2,887 - Rhodium oz 1,008 15,965 21,552 20,312 - Ruthenium oz 1,942 26,137 20,517 25,814 - Iridium oz 64 5,291 2,548 4,163 - Total PGMs oz 13,479 249,327 155,37 170,207 - 8 Lonmin Platinum Platinum oz 793,584 939,654 910,25 938,243 903,077 5
Palladium oz 365,309 434,413 401,08 403,987 405,073 3 Gold oz 24,650 26,774 20,484 21,385 17,557 Rhodium oz 103,924 132,246 115,00 123,953 131,752 5 Ruthenium oz 164,795 205,694 203,88 218,449 231,131 9 Iridium oz 37,922 43,383 29,224 40,553 39,797 Total PGMs oz 1,490,18 1,782,164 1,679, 1,746,57 1,728,387 4 940 0 Nickel mt 5,308 4,604 3,892 4,017 3,132 Copper mt 2,474 2,974 2,481 2,070 2,196 Average Prices Platinum $/o 1,213 1,091 852 818 645 z Palladium $/o 339 300 185 228 212 z Gold $/o 647 571 425 402 346 z Rhodium $/o 5,757 3,971 1,684 762 529 z Ruthenium $/o 404 134 66 46 32 z Iridium $/o 402 233 153 132 87 z Basket price of PGMs $/o 1,196 972 668 590 451 z Nickel $/M 26,461 17,975 12,527 11,444 6,812 T Copper $/M 6,971 7,882 3,168 2,261 1,526 T Unit 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
s Restat Resta Restate Restate ed ted d d Cost per PGM ounce sold Group: Mining - Marikana R/oz 2,306 1,700 1,606 1,422 n/c Mining - Limpopo R/oz 4,463 3,740 3,587 - n/c Mining (weighted R/oz 2,430 1,827 1,636 1,422 n/c average) Concentrating - R/oz 470 330 283 274 n/c Marikana Concentrating - R/oz 1,506 847 814 - n/c Limpopo Concentrating R/oz 526 361 291 274 n/c (weighted average) Process division R/oz 600 406 269 242 n/c Shared business R/oz 612 463 345 316 n/c services Stock movement R/oz 28 (9) 14 165 n/c C1 cost per PGM ounce sold R/oz 4,196 3,048 2,555 2,419 n/c before base metal credits Base metal credits R/oz (762) (242) (233) n/c (400) C1 cost per PGM ounce sold R/oz 3,434 2,648 2,313 2,186 n/c after base metal credits Amortisation R/oz 360 272 252 232 n/c Other EBIT items R/oz - - (28) - n/c C2 costs per PGM ounce R/oz 3,794 2,920 2,537 2,418 n/c sold Pandora Mining cost: C1 Pandora mining cost (in 2,453 1,195 n/c n/c n/c joint venture) R/oz Pandora JV cost/ounce to Lonmin 4,225 3,110 n/c n/c n/c (adjusting Lonmin share of profit) R/oz Exchange Rates Average rate for period10 SA Rand R/$ 7.14 6.63 6.28 6.60 7.90 Sterlin GBP/ 0.51 0.55 0.54 0.56 0.62 g $ Closing rate SA Rand R/$ 6.83 7.77 6.36 6.48 6.97 Sterlin GBP/ 0.50 0.53 0.57 0.55 0.60 g $ Footnotes: 1 2006 comprised an additional 7 days mining performance for WPL and EPL arising on the change of basis to report on a calendar month. The data has been restated to remove these extra days and restate on a like for like basis. 2 Pandora attributable tonnes mined includes Lonmin`s share (42.5%) of the total tonnes mined on the Pandora joint venture. Prior years have been restated. 3 Tonnes milled excludes slag milling. 4 Lonmin purchases 100% of the ore produced by the Pandora joint venture for onward processing which is included in downstream operating statistics. 5 Relates to the tonnes milled and derived metal in concentrate from third- party ore purchases. 6 Metals in concentrate have been changed from the previously reported definition of full contained metal to adjust for industry standard downstream processing losses. Prior years have been restated. 7 Corresponds to contained base metals in concentrate. 8 Nickel is produced and sold as nickel sulphate crystals or solution and the volumes shown correspond to contained metal. Copper is produced as refined product but typically at LME grade C. 9 Concentrate and other sales have been adjusted to a saleable ounces basis using standard industry recovery rates. Prior years have been restated. 10 Exchange rates are based on the weighted average rates applicable over the course of the year on revenue between Rand and US$. N/A Not applicable N/C Not calculated Consolidated income statement for the year ended 30 September Specia Specia
2007 l 2007 2006 l 2006 Underlyi items Total Underly items Tota Continuing operations Not ngi (note $m ingi (note l e $m 3) $m 3) $m
$m $m Revenue 2 1,941 - 1,941 1,855 - 1,85 5 EBITDA ii 883 (2) 881 911 12 923 Depreciation and - (87) (81) - (81) amortisation (87) Operating profit /(loss) 2 796 (2) 794 830 12 842 iii Finance income 4 25 - 25 12 - 12 Finance expenses 4 (28) (104) (132) (34) (206) (240 )
Share of profit of associate and 18 - 18 19 - 19 joint venture Profit / (loss) before 811 (106) 705 827 (194) 633 taxation 5 (255) (42) (297) (280) 78 (202 Income tax expense iv ) Profit / (loss) for the 556 (148) 408 547 (116) 431 year Attributable to: Equity shareholders of 453 (139) 314 445 (132) 313 Lonmin Plc 103 (9) 94 102 16 118 Minority interest Earnings per share 6 295.9c 205.1c 312.1c 219. 5c
Diluted earnings per 6 293.4c 203.3c 307.7c 216. sharev 4c Dividends paid per share 7 110.0c 87.0 c
Consolidated statement of recognised income and expense for the year ended 30 September 2007 2006 Total Tota
Note $m l $m Profit for the year 408 431 Change in fair value of available for sale financial 111 46 assets Net of changes in fair value of cash flow hedges (8) (4) Losses on settled cash flow hedges released to the 20 - income statement Deferred tax on items taken directly to the statement (32) - recognised income and expense Actuarial losses on post retirement benefit plan (11) (6) Total recognised income for the year 488 467 Attributable to: Equity shareholders of Lonmin Plc 9 392 350 Minority interest 9 96 117 9 488 467 Footnotes: i Underlying earnings are calculated on profit for the year excluding movements in the fair value of the embedded derivative associated with the convertible bond, exchange on tax balances, profit on the sale of Marikana houses, pension settlement surplus, impairment losses in respect of non core investments and, for 2006, an adjustment to the interest capitalised in prior years. ii EBITDA is operating profit before depreciation and amortisation. iii Operating profit is defined as revenue less operating expenses before net finance costs and before share of profit of associate and joint venture. iv The income tax expense substantially relates to overseas taxation ($6 million income relates to the UK) and includes exchange losses of $51 million (2006 - gains of $82 million) as disclosed in note 5. v The calculation of diluted EPS includes adjustments for the movements in fair value on the embedded derivative within the convertible bond subject to the limitation under IAS 33 - Earnings Per Share, that this cannot thereby create a figure exceeding basic EPS. Consolidated balance sheet as at 30 September 2007 2006 Not $m $m e Non-current assets Goodwill 186 113 Intangible assets 936 328 Property, plant and equipment 1,673 1,463 Investment in associate and joint venture 131 113 Financial assets: - Available for sale financial assets 226 98 - Other receivables 22 19 Employee benefits - 6 3,174 2,140 Current assets Inventories 186 135 Trade and other receivables 338 396 Assets classified as held for sale 7 6 Tax recoverable 3 3 Financial assets: - Derivative financial instruments 8 - Cash and cash equivalents 222 61 764 601 Current liabilities Bank overdraft (1) (18) Trade and other payables (286) (209) Financial liabilities: - Interest bearing loans and borrowings (237) - - Derivative financial instruments - (4) Tax payable (40) (91) (564) (322) Net current assets 200 279
Non-current liabilities Employee benefits (24) (7) Financial liabilities: - Interest bearing loans and borrowings (359) (499) - Derivative financial instruments - (268) Deferred tax liabilities (585) (294) Provisions (46) (39) (1,014) (1,107)
Net assets 2,360 1,312 Capital and reserves Share capital 9 156 143 Share premium 9 299 26 Other reserves 9 96 84 Retained earnings 9 1,417 836 Attributable to equity shareholders of 9 1,968 1,089 Lonmin Plc Attributable to minority interest 9 392 223 Total equity 9 2,360 1,312
Consolidated cash flow statement for the year ended 30 September 2007 2006 Note $m $m
Profit for the year 408 431 Taxation 5 297 202 Finance income 4 (25) (12) Finance expenses 4 132 240 Share of profit after tax of (18) (19) associate and joint venture Depreciation and amortisation 87 81 Change in inventories (51) (25) Change in trade and other 58 (249) receivables Change in trade and other payables 70 74 Change in provisions 4 (2) Profit on sale of assets held for (1) (12) sale Share based payments 24 11 Other non cash charges (2) 2 Cash flow from operations 983 722 Interest received 16 1 Interest paid (41) (32) Tax paid (266) (185) Cash flow from operating activities 692 506 Cash flow from investing activities Acquisition of subsidiaries (net of 10 (393) (14) cash acquired) Purchase of intangible asset (6) (21) Purchase of property, plant and (270) (161) equipment Proceeds from available for sale 51 - financial assets Purchase of available for sale (72) (36) financial assets Proceeds from disposal of assets 5 28 held for sale Cash used in investing activities (685) (204)
Cash flow from financing activities Equity dividends paid to Lonmin (171) (124) shareholders Dividends paid to minority (41) (62) Proceeds from current borrowings 237 - Repayment of current borrowings - (86) Proceeds from non-current borrowings 71 288 Repayment of non-current borrowings - (296) Issue of ordinary share capital 68 15 Cash used in financing activities 164 (265) Increase in cash and cash 171 37 equivalents Opening cash and cash equivalents 8 43 10 Effect of exchange rate changes 7 (4) Closing cash and cash equivalents 8 221 43 1 Basis of preparation The financial information presented has been prepared on the basis of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the EU as disclosed in note 1 to the financial statements. 2 Segmental analysis The Group`s primary operating segment is the mining of platinum group metals. The majority of the Group`s operations are based in South Africa. 2007 Exploratio
Platinum Corporat n Total Analysis by business group $m e and $m $m evaluation $m
Revenue - external sales 1,941 - - 1,941 Operating profit 880 (63) (23) 794 Segment total assets 3,211 41 686 3,938 Segment total liabilities (1,066) (339) (173) (1,57 8) Capital expenditurei 353 - 19 372 Depreciation and 87 - - 87 amortisation Share of profit associate 18 - - 18 and JV 2006 - restatedii
Exploratio Platinum Corporat n Total Analysis by business group $m e and $m $m evaluation
$m Revenue - external sales 1,855 - - 1,855 Operating profit 912 (56) (14) 842 Segment total assets 2,680 61 - 2,741 Segment total liabilities (931) (498) - (1,42 9) Capital expenditurei 232 1 - 233 Depreciation and 81 - - 81 amortisation Share of profit of 19 - - 19 associate and JV
2007 South Africa UK Other Total Analysis by geographical $m $m $m $m location Revenue - external sales 1,941 - - 1,941 Segment total assets 3,867 41 30 3,938 Capital expenditurei 372 - - 372
2006 - restatedii South Africa UK Other Total Analysis by geographical $m $m $m $m location Revenue - external sales 1,855 - - 1,855 Segment total assets 2,667 55 18 2,741 Capital expenditurei 232 1 - 233 Footnotes: i Capital expenditure includes additions to plant, property and equipment, intangible assets and goodwill in accordance with IAS 14 - Segment reporting. ii 2006 analysis has been restated as certain inter-segment charges had not been eliminated. Revenue by destination is analysed by geographical area below: 2007 2006 $m $m
The Americas 419 435 Asia 705 518 Europe 314 291 South Africa 482 602 Zimbabwe 21 9 1,941 1,855 3 Special Items `Special items` are those items of financial performance that the Group believes should be separately disclosed on the face of the income statement to assist in the understanding of the financial performance achieved by the Group and for consistency with prior years. 2007 2006
$m $m EBITDA - Sale of housesi 1 12 - Pensions refundii 2 - - Impairment lossiii (5) - Finance costs - Calculation of capitalised interest from - 21 prior yearsiv - Movement in fair value of embedded (104) (227) derivativev Loss on special items before taxation (106) (194) Taxation related to special items (note 5) (42) 78 Special loss before minority interest (148) (116) Minority interest 9 (16) Special loss for the year attributable to (139) (132) equity shareholders of Lonmin Plc (i) Sale of houses: a substantial number of our employees are accommodated in hostels and married quarters. We are selling houses to employees to encourage home-ownership. Any profits or losses from such sales at fair value are not deemed to represent underlying earnings. (ii) In February 2006 the Group made a payment into the SUITS pension scheme based on estimates at the time. These payments were charged to the income statement. On finalisation of the settlement Lonmin was refunded $3 million. This has been offset by a $1 million provision for the purchase of additional benefits for members of the scheme which was paid in October 2007. (iii) The Group has carried out a review of non-mining investments in the year resulting in a $5 million impairment charge to the income statement. (iv) Capitalised interest in 2006 represents an adjustment to the interest capitalised in previous years. (v) The bond contained an embedded derivative which, because of the cash settlement option, was held at fair value with movements in fair value taken to the income statement. Fluctuations in fair value were mainly due to share price and were not considered underlying so were reported as special. The bond has now been fully redeemed with the movement reported as special representing the movement from the last year end to the date of redemption. 4 Net finance costs 2007 2006
$m $m Finance income: 25 12 Interest receivable 16 2 Expected return on defined benefit pension 8 8 scheme assets Movement in fair value of non-current other 1 2 receivables
Finance expenses: (28) (34) On bank loans and overdrafts (40) (35) Bank fees (5) (3) Capitalised interest 23 16 Discounting on provisions (3) (2) Unwind of discounting on convertible bond (3) - Interest costs of defined benefit pension (7) (6) scheme liabilities Exchange differences on net debt 7 (4) Special items: (104) (206) Prior years capitalised interest (note 3) - 21 Movement in fair values of derivative (104) (227) financial instruments (note 3) Total finance expenses (132) (240) Net finance costs (107) (228) Interest expenses incurred have been capitalised on a Group basis to the extent that there is an appropriate qualifying asset. 5. Taxation 2007 2006 $m $m United Kingdom: Current tax expense at 30% (2006 - 30%) 42 122 Less amount of the benefit arising from double (42) (122) tax relief available Total UK tax expense - -
Overseas: Current tax expense at 29% (2006 - 29%) 200 259 Corporate tax expense 186 217 Tax on dividends remitted 14 43 Prior year items - (1) Deferred tax expense 55 21 Origination and reversal of temporary differences 55 21 Special items - UK and overseas (note 3)` 42 (78) Deferred tax on sale of houses - 4 Utilisation of losses from prior years to offset (9) - deferred tax liability Exchange on current taxation 10 (15) Exchange on deferred taxation 41 (67)
Actual tax charge 297 202 Tax charge excluding special items (note 3) 255 280
Effective tax rate 42% 32% Effective tax rate excluding special items (note 31% 34% 3) A reconciliation of the standard tax charge to the tax charge was as follows: 2007 2007 2006 2006
$m $m Tax charge at standard tax rate 29% 204 29% 184 Overseas taxes on dividends remitted by 2% 14 7% 43 subsidiary companies Special items as defined above 6% 42 (13)% (82) Tax effect of movements in the fair 4% 31 10% 66 values of financial instruments Tax effect of capitalised interest - - (1)% (6) adjustment (note 3) Tax effect of other timing differences 1% 6 - (3) Actual tax charge 42% 297 32% 202 The Group`s primary operations are based in South Africa. Therefore, the relevant standard tax rate for the Group was the South African statutory tax rate of 29% (2006 - 29%). The secondary tax rate of the dividends remitted by South African companies was 12.5% (2006 - 12.5%). The Group holds a number of available for sale assets which are marked to market. The value of these investments has increased significantly in the period resulting in the recognition of unrealised gains through the statement of recognised income and expense. This has resulted in the recognition of an associated deferred tax liability except to the extent that there are available losses which, in the opinion of the Directors, can be utilised to offset against such gains. In these cases a credit is recognised in the income statement as a special item reflecting the associated tax benefit. $6 million of the credit in the year related to UK taxation. The Group holds both current and deferred tax balances in Rand which is not the functional currency of the Group. Given the volatility of the Rand to US$ exchange rate the revaluation of such tax balances can cause significant variations in the tax charge and therefore profitability. Consequently the Directors feel that such foreign exchange impacts should be treated as a special item. 6. Earnings per share Earnings per share have been calculated on the profit attributable to equity shareholders amounting to $314 million (2006 - $313 million) using a weighted average number of 153,097,437 ordinary shares in issue (2006 - 142,594,539 ordinary shares). Diluted earnings per share are based on the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue adjusted by dilutive outstanding share options and shares issued on conversion of the convertible bonds. Shares issued on conversion of the convertible bonds were anti-dilutive in the current and prior year and have been excluded from diluted earnings per share in accordance with IAS 33 - Earnings Per Share. 2007 2006 Profit Per Profit Per for Number share for Number of share
the of amount the shares amount year shares cents year cents $m $m Basic EPS 314 153,097, 205.1 313 142,594,539 219.5 437 Share option - 1,324,64 (1.8) - 2,021,331 (3.1) schemes 2 Diluted EPS 314 154,422, 203.3 313 144,615,870 216.4 079 2007 2006 Profit Per Profit Per
for Number share for Number of share the of amount the shares amount year shares cents year cents $m $m
Underlying EPS 453 153,097, 295.9 445 142,594,539 312.1 437 Share options - 1,324,64 (2.5) - 2,021,331 (4.4) schemes 2 Diluted 453 154,422, 293.4 445 144,615,870 307.7 underlying EPS 079 Underlying earnings per share has been presented as the Directors consider it to give a fairer reflection of the underlying results of the business. Underlying earnings per share are based on the profit attributable to equity shareholders adjusted to exclude special items (as defined in note 3) as follows: 2007 2006 Profit Per Profit Per
for Number of share for Number of share the shares amount the shares amount year cents year cents $m $m
Basic EPS 314 153,097,437 205.1 313 142,594,539 219.5 Special items 139 - 90.8 132 - 92.6 (note 3) Underlying 453 153,097,437 295.9 445 142,594,539 312.1 EPS 7 Dividends 2007 2006 Cents per Cents
$m share $m per share Prior year final dividend, paid 85 55.0 60 42.0 in the year Interim dividend, paid in the 86 55.0 64 45.0 year Total dividend paid in the year 171 110.0 124 87.0
Interim dividend, paid in the 55.0 45.0 year Proposed final dividend for the 60.0 55.0 year Total dividend in respect of 115.0 100.0 the year 8 Net debt as defined by the Group As at As at
1 Subsidiar Non- 30 October y Cash flow cash September 2006 acquired $m movemen 2007 $m $m ts $m
$m Cash and cash 61 20 134 7 222 equivalents Overdrafts (18) - 17 - (1) 43 20 151 7 221 Current borrowings - - (237) - (237) Non-current borrowings (288) - (71) - (359) Convertible bonds (213) - - 213 - Net debt as defined by (458) 20 (157) 220 (375) the Group As at As at
1 Subsidiar Non- 30 October y Cash flow cash September 2005 acquired $m movemen 2006 $m $m ts $m
$m Cash and cash 11 - 54 (4) 61 equivalents Overdrafts (1) - (17) - (18) 10 - 37 (4) 43 Current borrowings (86) - 86 - - Non-current borrowings (296) - 8 - (288) Convertible bonds (213) - - - (213) Net debt as defined by (585) - 131 (4) (458) the Group Net debt as defined by the Group comprises cash and cash equivalents, bank overdrafts repayable on demand, interest bearing loans and borrowings and convertible bonds grossed up for capitalised fees. On 15 November 2006 Lonmin Plc gave notice to force redemption of all outstanding convertible bonds at their principle amount. This led to the issuance of 10,576,944 shares and a reduction in net debt as defined by the Group of $213 million. 9 Total Equity Equity Shareholders` funds
Called Share up premi Other Retai Minor Total share um reser ned Tot ity equit capital accou ves earni al inter y
$m nt $m ngs $m ests $m $m $m $m At 1 October 2006 143 26 84 836 1,0 223 1,312 89
Total recognised income and - - 12 380 392 96 488 expense Dividends - - - (171) (17 (41) (212) 1)
Conversion of the 11 205 - - 216 - 216 convertible bondi Embedded derivative - - - 371 371 - 371 movementii Deferred tax on share base - - - (3) (3) (1) (4) payments Other - - - 4 4 2 6 Shares issued on exercise of 1 32 - - 33 - 33 share optionsiii Shares issued under the IFC 1 36 - - 37 - 37 option agreementiv Minority interest arising on - - - - - 113 113 business acquisition At 30 September 2007 156 299 96 1,417 1,9 392 2,360 68
At 1 October 2005 142 12 88 596 838 166 1,004 Total recognised income and - - (4) 354 350 117 467 expense Buy out of minority - - - - - 1 1 interests in Messina Dividends - - - (124) (12 (62) (186) 4) Deferred tax on share - - - 7 7 1 8 options Other - - - 3 3 - 3 Shares issued on exercise of 1 14 - - 15 - 15 share options At 30 September 2006 143 26 84 836 1,0 223 1,312 89 i. In November 2006 the Company issued notice regarding the redemption of all outstanding convertible bonds. Conversion of the bond resulted in the issuance of 10,576,944 shares with an associated nominal share capital of $11million and the recognition of $205 million share premium. ii. As explained in note 3, the convertible bond contained an embedded derivative, movements in the fair value of which were recognised through the income statement. On conversion of the bond the embedded derivative was released with a corresponding credit taken directly to equity. iii. During the year 1,876,433 share options were exercised (2006 - 850,301) on which $33 million of cash was received (2006 - $15 million). iv. During the year 586,730 share options were exercised under the International Finance Corporation option agreement. As the shares were issued at a discount only $35 million of cash was received. Other reserves represent the capital redemption reserve of $88 million (2006 - $88 million) and a hedging reserve asset of $8 million (2006 - $4 million liability). The movement in the year represents the movement on the hedging reserve. Minority interests represent an 18% shareholding in Eastern Platinum Limited, Western Platinum Limited and Messina Limited throughout the year and, from 1 February 2007 a 26% shareholding in Akanani Mining (Pty) Limited. 10 Business combinations On 26 January 2007 the Group acquired 94% of AfriOre Limited. This increased to 96.5% on 8 February 2007 and to 100% on 16 February 2007. AfriOre`s primary asset is a 74% stake in the Akanani PGM deposit. The acquisition was accounted for with an effective date of 1 February 2007 using the acquisition method of accounting. Since its acquisition AfriOre has only incurred exploration and evaluation expenditure which has been capitalised in accordance with the Group`s accounting policy. The assets and liabilities of AfriOre Limited and the provisional fair values attributed to these were as follows: Provisional Provisional Book value Accounting fair value fair value
on policy adjustment 2007 acquisition adjustment $m $m $m $m Intangible assets 13 (13) 611 611 Trade and other (5) - - payables (5) Cash and cash 20 - - 20 equivalents Deferred tax - - (173) liability (173) Total assets of 28 (13) 438 453 acquired entity Minority interest (113) Provisional fair 340 value of assets acquired Goodwill 73 Consideration paid 413 The fair value exercise has, in accordance with IFRS 3 - Business Combinations, recognised the assets of the AfriOre Limited Group at the fair value they would carry if they held tax benefits. This has resulted in the need to recognise a deferred liability of $173 million which in turn has caused the creation of a goodwill balance of $73 million. The fair values assigned have been determined provisionally which is in accordance with IFRS 3 - Business Combinations. A final review of fair values will be undertaken prior to 1 February 2008. The total consideration paid for the acquisition of AfriOre Limited amounted to $413 million comprising cash consideration of $409 million, and expenses on the transaction of $4 million, all paid in the year. Cash acquired with the entity amounted to $20 million resulting in a net consideration paid of $393 million. The acquisition has had no material impact on the operating results of the Group for the period. If the acquisition had taken place at the beginning of the period it is estimated that some $10 million of exploration and evaluation costs would have been incurred. In accordance with the Group`s policy for exploration and evaluation expenditure this would have been capitalised and the impact on the income statement would have been $nil. 11 Statutory Disclosure The financial information set out above is taken from, but does not constitute, the Company`s statutory accounts for the years ended 30 September 2007 and 2006. The statutory accounts for the financial year ended 30 September 2006 have been delivered, and statutory accounts for 2007 will be delivered, to the Registrar of Companies. The Auditors have made unqualified reports on those accounts and such reports did not contain a statement under Section 237 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. Copies of the 2007 Lonmin Accounts will be posted to shareholders and will be available at the Company`s registered office before the end of November 2007. 12. Final Dividend Timetable The Board of Lonmin Plc has recommended a final dividend for the year ended 30 September 2007 of 60.0 US cents per share. The dividend timetable in respect of this dividend, assuming shareholder approval at the AGM, is as follows: Last day to trade cum div SA Friday 4 January 2008 UK Tuesday 8 January 2008 Shares commence trading ex div SA Monday 7 January 2008 UK Wednesday 9 January 2008 Dividend record date Friday 11 January 2008 Last date for receipt of new applications to participate in Dividend Re- investment Plan SA Friday 25 January 2008 UK Friday 25 January 2008 Dividend payment date Friday 8 February 2008 No transfers between the UK principle register and the SA branch register will be permitted from the date on which the US$/Rand exchange rate is announced to the record date, both dates inclusive (i.e. last date to transfer Thursday 27 December 2007). The SA branch register will be closed for the purpose of trades (dematerialisation and rematerialisation) from Monday 7 January 2008 to Friday 11 January 2008, both dates inclusive. The dividend will be paid:- In Rand to shareholders on the SA branch register calculated at the Rand to US Dollar exchange rate on Friday 28 December 2007, which rate will be announced on that day. In Sterling to share holders domiciled in the UK (unless they elect to received US Dollar dividends) calculated at the US Dollar to sterling exchange rate on Friday 18 January 2008, which rate will be announced on that day. In US Dollars to all other overseas share holders (unless they elect to receive Sterling dividends or have mandated their US dividends to a UK bank or participate in TAPS). Elections to receive an alternative currency (Dollars or Sterling) should compromise a signed request to Lloyds TSB Registers to be received by 17:00 on 11 January 2008. 13. Annual General Meeting The 2008 Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday 24 January 2008 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Board Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3EE 14. Availability of this report This report is available on the Lonmin website (www.lonmin.com) Date: 14/11/2007 09:00:16 Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited (`JSE`). The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers, employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature, howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on, information disseminated through SENS.

Share This Story