RBPlat eyes deals

Royal Bafokeng Platinum reports a swing back into interim profit on Monday and is eyeing potential acquisitions.

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Johannesburg - Mid-tier South African platinum producer Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) reported a swing back into interim profit on Monday and is eyeing potential acquisitions.

CEO Martin Prinsloo tells Reuters the company is “looking around at many things, it's a time to buy. But it's all about willing buyer, willing seller and people are not necessarily willing to sell at their current market caps.

“We have a specific focus on acquisitions that will make sense to our business.”

RBPlat delivered headline earnings of 77.8 cents per share for the six months ended 30 June 2016 compared to a headline loss of 60.4 cents per share for the six months ended 30 June 2015.

The company had flagged to the market that it expected headline earnings per share for the period of between 71 and 81 cents.

The weaker rand lifted the basket price of platinum group metals that the group produced in rand terms. This added 14 cents per share to the group's earnings and a tax credit from the company's employee housing project delivered 24 cents per share.

REUTERS