PETMIN is forecasting an increase in its interim basic earnings per share of between 47 percent and 49 percent. Basic earnings per share for the six-month period to December are expected to be between 8.35cents and 8.45c, the multi-commodity mining company said yesterday. Basic earnings per share in the 2013 half year was 5.68c. Headline earnings per share for the six months are expected to be between 8.35c and 8.45c up from 6.71c in 2013. This is a forecast increase of between 24 percent and 26 percent compared with the results reported in the previous corresponding period. Petmin has mining operations in South Africa and exploration projects in Canada, Liberia and Turkey. The company is South Africa’s leading producer of metallurgical anthracite. The company’s interim results were set to be published on February 24, it said. Petmin’s shares on the JSE rose 10.77 percent to close at R1.44. – Siphamandla Goge