Valterra Platinum shares surge as HEPS expected to rise by up to 105%

Valterra Platinum's share price built on a year-long rally on the JSE on Friday after it said headline earnings per share (HEPS) will increase sharply by between 85% and 105% for the 12 months to December 31, 2023.

The mining group, which was previously known as Anglo Platinum, said in a trading statement the sharp increase was due to a 26% stronger PGM dollar price of $1 852 per PGM ounce, as well as the delivery of R5bn operational cost reductions, more than offsetting the impact of inflation and R1.7bn one-off demerger related costs.

Valterra's share price increased by 3.29% to R1 687.84 on Friday afternoon on the JSE. The share price has steadily risen over 176% over the past 12 months.

Headline earnings were expected to increase by the same amount, to between R15.6bn and R17.3bn, compared with R8.4bn in the prior period, and HEPS is expected to be between 59.41 cents per share and 65.88 cents per share, compared with 32.05 cents per share in the prior period.

Sales volumes fell due to a larger drawdown of excess work-in-progress in the prior period, and significant flooding at the Amandelbult Tumela mine in first half 2025, which impacted mined and refined output.

The impact at Amandelbult was partially offset by the R2.5bn insurance proceeds.

Basic earnings and earnings per share (EPS) were expected to have increased by between 105% and 125% compared to the prior period. Basic earnings were likely to be between R14.5bn and R15.9bn (compared to R7.1bn in the prior period) and EPS is expected to be between 5 522 cents a share and 6 055 cents a share, versus 2 683 cents per share in the prior period.

Basic earnings were impacted by R1.9bn non-recurring scrapping of assets related to the design and engineering work for the SO2 abatement plant at Mortimer Smelter and the Vaalkop Tailings Storage Facility, due to it being replaced by the Blinkwater Tailings Storage Facility, which will provide adequate future tailings capacity.

Taxation and royalties increased in line with increased earnings.

Last September Anglo Platinum pivoted to a new name and also listed in London following a demerger from its parent Anglo American.

The US platinum spot price increased from $961.19 per ounce on January 1, 2025, to $2 026.63 per ounce on January 1, 2026, an online search showed. The strong results underscore the resilience of Valterra Platinum despite operational challenges, with both improved PGM prices and effective cost management driving performance. 

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