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SLP Sylvania Platinum Limited

71.00
-1.50 (-2.07%)
13 May 2024 - Closed
Delayed by 15 minutes
Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Sylvania Platinum Limited LSE:SLP London Ordinary Share BMG864081044 CMN SHS USD0.01 (DI)
  Price Change % Change Share Price Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  -1.50 -2.07% 71.00 70.00 72.00 72.50 71.00 72.00 821,543 15:35:27
Industry Sector Turnover Profit EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap
Miscellaneous Metal Ores,nec 127.04M 45.35M 0.1720 4.13 187.16M

Sylvania Platinum Limited Half-year Report (8875F)

26/02/2018 7:01am

UK Regulatory


Sylvania Platinum (LSE:SLP)
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TIDMSLP

RNS Number : 8875F

Sylvania Platinum Limited

26 February 2018 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

26 February 2018

Sylvania Platinum Limited

("Sylvania", "the Company" or "the Group")

AIM (SLP)

Interim financial results for the six months ended 31 December 2017

The Directors are pleased to present the interim financial results for the six months ended 31 December 2017. Unless otherwise stated, the consolidated financial information contained in this report is presented in USD.

Achievements

-- Acquisition of Phoenix Platinum Mining (Pty) Ltd, renamed Sylvania Lesedi, completed in November 2017 and operation successfully integrated into the SDO;

-- First two modules of Project Echo successfully commissioned during December 2017 at Millsell and Doornbosch;

-- SDO delivered 33,892 4E PGM ounces for the period against 35,819 4E PGM ounces in HY1 FY2017 due in part to the scheduled closure of the Steelpoort operation in June 2017;

-- Revenue generated for the period of $28.2 million, net of pipeline sales adjustments, was a 15% improvement on HY1 FY2017;

-- General and Administration costs down 3% to $0.85 million from $0.88 million in H1 FY2017; and

-- Group EBITDA of $10.3 million for the period increased 12% on the corresponding period in the previous financial year, while net profit improved 19%.

Challenges

-- PGM ounce production guidance revised to between 71,000 ounces and 75,000 ounces for FY2018 due to lower PGM feed grades at Millsell and Mooinooi during the period, and the planned delay of Tweefontein MF2 commissioning in Q4 due to power distribution constraints to the mine;

-- Group cash costs increased 18% in ZAR terms to R7,043/ounce ($526/ounce) compared to corresponding period in previous year, primarily due to lower PGM ounces produced during the period.

Opportunities

-- Improved gross basket price of $1,057/ounce during the period due to higher Platinum and Palladium price, mitigates impact of lower PGM ounce production and boosts profit outlook for the current financial year;

-- Relatively high Rhodium content in Sylvania's PGM concentrate enables the Company to benefit from current high Rhodium prices;

-- Company remains debt free with a positive Group cash balance of $12.6 million at 31 December 2017, after funding the ZAR89 million ($6.3 million) acquisition of Sylvania Lesedi in November 2017 and $2.5 million of capital expenditure relating to Project Echo during the period, enabling the Company to self-fund the remaining modules of Project Echo;

-- Cost and PGM recovery optimisation initiatives identified and in progress at the Lesedi operation; and

-- PGM grade and recovery optimisation initiatives, incorporating proprietary processing modifications, identified at Millsell, Doornbosch and Tweefontein operations to mitigate PGM ounce production impact associated with Tweefontein MF2 delay and to sustain the forecast production profile.

Commenting on the period, Sylvania's CEO Terry McConnachie said:

"The past six months was an exciting period where the management team worked diligently to successfully integrate the newly acquired Lesedi operation and to deliver and commission the first two modules of Project Echo at Millsell and Doornbosch. Although we were faced with some unique operational challenges that affected our stated production guidance, I am pleased with the operational team's performance and action plans to recover and to ensure future production, cost and profit targets are achieved.

Guidance for FY2018 is between 71,000 ounces and 75,000 ounces, which we expect to increase to approximately 78,000 ounces from FY2019 onwards."

 
          USD            Unit            Unaudited            Unit             ZAR 
----------------------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ---------------------- 
 HY1 2017    HY1 2018                                                 HY1 2018     HY12017 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
                                         Production 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
 1,063,150   1,097,568     T             Plant Feed             T     1,097,568   1,063,150 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
   2.40        2.46       g/t         Feed Head Grade          g/t      2.40        2.46 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
                                       PGM Plant Feed 
  574,796     584,850      T                Tons                T      584,850     574,796 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
                                       PGM Plant Feed 
   4.05        3.60       g/t               Grade              g/t      3.60        4.05 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
   46.7%       48.0%       %         PGM Plant Recovery         %       48.0%       46.7% 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
  35,819      33,892      Oz           Total 4E PGMs           Oz      33,892      35,819 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
  48,178      45,224      Oz           Total 6E PGMs           Oz      45,224      48,178 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
 
                                       Average gross 
    883        1,057     $/oz           basket price          R/oz     14,153      12,378 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
 
                                         Financials 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
  22,794      23,779     $'000          Revenue (4E)          R'000    318,400     319,532 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
   1,114       1,645     $'000     Revenue (by products)      R'000     22,032     15,611 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
    644        2,755     $'000       Sales adjustments        R'000    36,894       9,025 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
  24,551      28,180     $'000          Net revenue           R'000    377,330     344,203 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
 
  14,506      17,032     $'000        Operating costs         R'000    228,058     203,374 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
                                 General and administrative 
    877         853      $'000              costs             R'000    11,422      12,293 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
   9,215      10,322     $'000          Group EBITDA          R'000    138,213     129,190 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
    246         330      $'000          Net Interest          R'000     4,419       3,449 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
   2,141       2,504     $'000            Taxation            R'000    33,529      30,019 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
                                        Depreciation 
   2,770       2,723     $'000        and amortisation        R'000    36,461      38,835 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
                                      Realised Foreign 
     -          (2)      $'000         exchange losses        R'000     (27)         (5) 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
   4,521       5,400     $'000           Net profit           R'000    72,306      63,384 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
 
    973        4,509     $'000      Capital Expenditure       R'000    60,376      13,641 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
     -           -                      Ave R/$ rate           R/$      13.39       14.02 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
 
                                   Unit Cost/Efficiencies 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
                                       SDO Cash Cost 
    405         502      $/oz           Per 4E PGM oz         R/oz      6,728       5,677 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
                                       SDO Cash Cost 
    301         377      $/oz           Per 6E PGM oz         R/oz      5,042       4,221 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
                                      Group Cash Cost 
    425         526      $/oz           Per 4E PGM oz         R/oz      7,043       5,958 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
                                      Group Cash Cost 
    316         394      $/oz           Per 6E PGM oz         R/oz      5,268       4,430 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
                                     All-in sustaining 
    417         532      $/oz             cost (4E)           R/oz      7,127       5,848 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
    434         636      $/oz         All-in cost (4E)        R/oz      8,515       6,090 
----------  ----------  ------  ---------------------------  ------  ----------  ---------- 
 

The Sylvania cash generating subsidiaries are incorporated in South Africa with the functional currency of these operations being ZAR. Revenues from the sale of PGMs are incurred in USD and then converted into ZAR. The Group's reporting currency is USD as the parent company is incorporated in Bermuda. Corporate and general and administration costs are incurred in USD, GBP and ZAR.

For the six months under review the average USD:ZAR exchange rate was R13.39:1 and the closing exchange rate was R12.42:1.

A. OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW

Health, safety and environment

There were no significant health or environmental incidents during the quarter, with Lesedi, Tweefontein and Doornbosch operations remaining LTI free for more than five years, and Lannex and Millsell remaining LTI-free for more than two years. Unfortunately a colleague at Mooinooi suffered a LTI due to an injury to their finger during the period.

Health, safety and environmental compliance remains a key-priority for the Company and the combined effort between management and all the employees across the operations, together with the overall safety culture, contribute towards the high safety standards and plant conditions at the respective operations

Operational performance

Strong operational performances at Tweefontein and Doornbosch, with both exceeding treatment tons and recovery targets, combined with the attributable 1,458 ounces from Lesedi since the take-over in November 2017, assisted in achieving 33,892 ounces for the six months ended 31 December 2017, despite Steelpoort's scheduled end of life decommissioning in June 2017.

Although PGM feed tons were approximately 2% up compared to the corresponding period in the previous year, overall PGM plant feed grade was down 11%, primarily due to lower grade dump material that had to be re-mined as a result of the new tailings dam commissioning delay at Millsell, lower grade ROM material received from the host mine at Mooinooi, and lower feed grades of approximately 2.80g/t 4E from the Lesedi operation since Sylvania acquired it.

PGM recovery efficiency improved by approximately 3% during the period, this being associated with the introduction of new flotation technology at Moonooi since August 2017 and flotation optimisation initiatives across operations.

The SDO cash costs for the period in ZAR terms increased approximately 19% to ZAR6,728/ounce, primarily due to lower PGM ounce production and higher dump re-mining costs during the new tailings dam delay at Millsell. In USD terms cash costs increased by 24% to $502/ounce, due to the additional impact of a 5% strengthening in the ZAR/USD exchange rate.

The improved PGM basket price, and associated increased sales adjustment related to pipeline revenue for ounces produced in the previous period, contributed towards the 15% improvement in net revenue of $28 million.

Operational challenges

There were primarily two events that had a negative impact on PGM ounce production for the year to date:

o A delayed water use licence authorisation by authorities at Millsell resulted in the delayed commissioning of a new tailings dam which impacted negatively on the available dump resource grade and re-mining strategy;

-- In order not to stop production at the operation, the current tailings dump being re-mined had to be abandoned and utilised as an emergency tailings deposition facility during the three-month delay, which meant that coarser, lower grade dump resources had to be treated during the interim period, resulting in significantly lower than planned ounces at the operation;

-- The new tailings dam has been in operation since November 2017 with the original re-mining site re-established in January 2018 and feed grades are returning to planned levels.

o Lower than planned current arisings at Millsell and Mooinooi, as well as lower than planned ROM material from the host mine during Q2, which carried over into January 2018, impacted negatively on PGM plant feed grades and ounce production;

-- Dump feed tons were increased during the period to mitigate the impact, but due to typical lower PGM grade and recovery potential of historical dump material compared to current arisings and ROM feed, the PGM ounce production was negatively impacted at these sites.

-- After resuming operations post the December mining break, the host mines are ramping up production again and PGM feed tons and grades are normalising.

Lesedi integration

In November 2017 the acquisition of Phoenix Platinum Mining (Pty) Ltd, now renamed Sylvania Lesedi, was completed with all the conditions precedent fulfilled. The cash purchase price of ZAR89 million was funded internally and Sylvania took over the operations effective 7 November 2017.

Since integration, the primary focus has been on increasing plant production volumes, improving plant feed stability, feed grade and recovery efficiency to assist with PGM ounce production, and also to implement action plans to reduce overall production costs. Some of the specific actions to date are listed below and the respective SDO and Lesedi management teams continue to identify areas of improvement to address both production and cost efficiencies.

Current initiatives include, but are not limited to the following:

-- Sylvania's proven operating model has been applied since November 2017 at Lesedi in terms of production and procurement, in order to improve PGM ounces and to reduce direct operating costs at the operation, and the operation is already benefiting from the involvement of the SDO's shared production and technical management teams;

-- Mass pull optimisation strategy has been developed and implemented since late November 2017 in order to improve PGM recovery efficiencies in the flotation circuit;

-- Plant feed tons and PGM feed grades have increased since December 2017 through a combination of plant debottlenecking and resource scheduling; and

-- The outsourced plant operation and maintenance contract, whereby a third party managed the plant production, maintenance and procurement aspects at the operation, based on a management fee and profit margin on labour, procurement and fixed costs, was terminated effective from 31 December 2017, which should result in significant savings in the future.

The improved quarterly 4E PGM ounce production was as a result of higher PGM plant feed tons, grade and recovery efficiency, especially during December 2017, which was the highest PGM production month over the past two years.

Project Echo

During the reporting period, the construction of both the Millsell and Doornbosch MF2 modules under Project Echo were successfully completed during December 2017, with Doornbosch construction and commissioning completed a month ahead of schedule. Millsell MF2 was unfortunately delayed by one month due to the late completion of a power distribution upgrade by the local municipality which was in November 2017.

The Millsell and Doornbosch MF2 plants are currently being optimised and will contribute towards significantly improving PGM ounce production during the coming months.

Tweefontein MF2 is the next Project Echo module to be constructed and commissioned. This was originally scheduled for May 2018, but due to the national power utility's electricity supply infrastructure to the Tweefontein mining complex becoming constrained due to increased demand in the area, the host mine had to negotiate for an upgrade to the infrastructure in order to ensure stable and reliable supply to both the host mine and Sylvania's operation. Although this does not put the current Sylvania Tweefontein operation at risk, it does introduce an element of risk to the Project Echo MF2 module's scheduled commissioning. As a result, a decision was made to delay the construction and commissioning of Tweefontein's MF2 module until the power distribution infrastructure upgrade is complete. It is anticipated that Tweefontein MF2 will be commissioned by mid-FY2019, but the timing will be dependent upon the completion of the power upgrade.

PGM grade and recovery optimisation initiatives, incorporating proprietary processing modifications, that have been identified at Millsell, Doornbosch and Tweefontein operations, together with available dump resource scheduling will assist in mitigating the PGM ounce production impact associated with the Tweefontein MF2 delay and sustaining the forecasted production profile for FY2019.

Outlook

During the next half of FY2018, the Company remains focused on performance, delivering on production guidance and the optimisation of the resource. Given the past quarter's challenges, the Board believe it necessary to revise the production guidance to between 71,000 ounces and 75,000 ounces for the financial year. A focus on delivering on our capital projects within stated timeframes is also a key priority.

B. FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

 
 CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF 
  PROFIT OR LOSS 
  For the half year ended 31                 31 December    31 December 
  December 2017                                  2017           2016 
                                     Notes        $              $ 
 
 Revenue                               1       28,179,974     24,550,903 
 Cost of sales                               (19,755,236)   (17,276,120) 
 Gross profit                                   8,424,738      7,274,783 
 
 Other income                                       5,056         18,171 
 Foreign exchange (loss)/gain                     (2,183)            330 
 General and administrative 
  costs                                2        (853,276)      (876,851) 
 Operating profit before net 
  finance income and income 
  tax expense                                   7,574,335      6,416,433 
 
 Finance income                                   469,576        375,620 
 Finance costs                                  (139,104)      (129,945) 
                                            -------------  ------------- 
 Profit before income tax expense               7,904,807      6,662,108 
 
 
 Income tax expense                           (2,504,486)    (2,141,151) 
 Net profit for the period                      5,400,321      4,520,957 
                                            =============  ============= 
 
                                                Cents          Cents 
 Profit per share for profit 
  attributable to the ordinary 
  equity holders of the Company: 
 Basic earnings per share                        1.88           1.56 
 Diluted earnings per share                      1.86           1.52 
 

1. Revenue is generated from the sale of PGM 6E ounces produced at the seven retreatment plants (including Sylvania Lesedi), net of pipeline sales adjustments.

2. General and administrative costs relates to corporate activities and include costs for consulting fees, audit fees, travel, advisor and PR costs, share registry costs, Directors' fees, share based payments and other smaller administrative costs.

 
 CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF 
  CASH FLOWS 
  For the half year ended 31                31 December   31 December 
  December 2017                     Notes       2017          2016 
                                                 $             $ 
 Net cash inflow from operating 
  activities                          3       7,141,597     5,881,593 
 
 Net cash (outflow)/inflow 
  from investing activities           4     (9,740,912)       232,637 
 
 Net cash outflow from financing 
  activities                          5     (1,243,466)     (648,456) 
                                           ------------  ------------ 
 
 Net (decrease)/increase in 
  cash and cash equivalents                 (3,842,781)     5,465,774 
 
 Effect of exchange fluctuations 
  on cash held                                1,165,703       502,508 
 
 Cash and cash equivalents 
  beginning of reporting period              15,321,117     6,707,022 
 
 Cash and cash equivalents, 
  end of reporting period                    12,644,039    12,675,304 
                                           ------------  ------------ 
 

3. Net cash inflow from operating activities includes a net operating cash inflow of $8,099,238, net finance income of $433,723 and taxation paid of $1,391,364.

4. Net cash outflow from investing activities includes payments for property, plant and equipment of $4,282,262, exploration and evaluation assets of $227,155, acquisition of Sylvania Lesedi of $6,272,453, rehabilitation insurance guarantee of $99,478 and $4,734 spent for an investment in a joint venture, cash inflow of $24,936 proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment and cash inflow of $1,120,234 from Ironveld Holdings for the final settlement of the loan facility.

5. The net cash outflow from financing activities consists of the repayment of borrowings of $71,012 and payments for share transactions of $1,172,454.

Financial performance

The Gross basket price for PGMs for the six months to 31 December 2017 was $1,057/ounce compared to $883/ounce to 31 December 2016 due to the improvement in both the Platinum and Palladium prices over the reporting period. The Group recorded net revenue of $28 million for 6E ounces, after a $2.8 million pipeline sales adjustment over the period due to the improved metals prices.

Operating cash costs for the Group for the period were ZAR7,043/ounce compared to ZAR5,958/ounce at 31 December 2016. The increased cost per ounce was due mainly to the lower ounces for the reporting period and higher than planned re-mining costs at Millsell associated with new tailings dam delay. The cost per ounce is expected to reduce going forward as the Project Echo ounces come on stream in the second half of FY2018. The all-in sustaining cost (AISC) for the Group was ZAR7,127/ounce and all-in cost (AIC) of ZAR8,515/ounce for the period to 31 December 2017, of which ZAR1,354/ounce is attributable to the capital expenditure on Project Echo and plant optimisation. This compares to the AISC and AIC for 31 December 2016 of ZAR5,848/ounce and ZAR6,090/ounce respectively.

The total operating cost (excluding depreciation) for the period was ZAR228 million compared to ZAR203 million in the six months to 31 December 2016. The main contributors to the cost of production include salaries and wages of ZAR85.1million (H1 FY2017: ZAR76.6 million), mining costs of ZAR21.9 million (H1 FY 2017: ZAR15.9 million), engineering and maintenance of ZAR21.7million (H1 FY2017: ZAR20.2 million), reagents and milling costs of ZAR16.7 million (H1 FY2017: ZAR16.6 million) and electricity of ZAR26.4 million (H1 FY2017: ZAR27.7 million), with a number of smaller direct cost categories making up the balance.

Corporate, general and administration costs were contained at $0.8 million for the period. These costs are incurred in USD, GBP and ZAR and relate mainly to listing costs, share registry costs, advisory and public relations costs and consulting fees.

Interest is earned on surplus cash invested in South Africa at an average interest rate of 7% per annum. Cash is held in ZAR to fund the remainder of Project Echo and other strategic production optimisation projects when identified. Interest paid is on instalment sale agreements for the purchase of movable plant and vehicles.

Income tax is paid in ZAR on taxable profits generated by the South African operations. Income tax for the six months to 31 December 2017 was ZAR25.8 million compared to ZAR37.1 million for 31 December 2016, which is in line with the taxable profits of the operations and after mining capital allowances. The balance of the movement relates to deferred tax movements for the period.

The depreciation and amortisation charges are incurred on property plant and equipment at the SDO. The slight reduction in cost is due to the scheduled closure of the Steelpoort operation.

As at 31 December 2017, the Company's cash and cash equivalents balance was $12.6 million. Cash generated from operations was $7.1 million for the reporting period, which includes an outflow of $2.0 million for working capital changes and $1.4 million paid for income tax. The Company spent $1.2 million on share buy backs in the market as well as in accordance with the Share Buyback Programme, and $4.5 million on capital expenditure. The remaining balance of $1.1 million related to the loan to Ironveld Holdings which was received during the period. With the majority of the cash generated and held in ZAR, the appreciation of the ZAR against the USD also increased the reported cash balance since the last reporting date of 30 June 2017 by $1.2 million.

The increase in the trade and other receivables is as a result of the higher basket price and slightly higher pipeline ounces at 31 December 2017 when compared to 31 December 2016.

 
 CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION      31 December 2017   31 December 2016 
                                           Notes          $                  $ 
 Assets 
 Non-current assets 
 
 Equity-accounted investees                  6              474,418                  - 
 Other financial assets                      7            1,143,988            295,077 
 Exploration and evaluation assets                       58,376,482         54,949,663 
 Property, plant and equipment               8           40,748,694         30,374,574 
                                                  -----------------  ----------------- 
 Total non-current assets                               100,743,582         85,619,314 
                                                  -----------------  ----------------- 
 
 
 Current assets 
 Cash and cash equivalents                   9           12,644,039         12,675,304 
 Trade and other receivables                10           23,378,244         17,711,663 
 Other financial assets                      7                    -            973,065 
 Inventories                                11            1,865,263          1,792,219 
 Current tax asset                                          219,426              1,467 
 Total current assets                                    38,106,972         33,153,718 
                                                  -----------------  ----------------- 
 Total assets                                           138,850,554        118,773,032 
                                                  -----------------  ----------------- 
 
 
 
 CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF                31 December   31 December 
  FINANCIAL POSITION (Cont.)                  2017          2016 
                                  Notes        $             $ 
 Equity and liabilities 
 Shareholders' equity 
 Issued capital                    12       2,911,337     2,979,819 
 Reserves                          13      74,874,672    68,625,951 
 Retained profits                          35,437,010    25,685,082 
                                         ------------  ------------ 
 Total equity                             113,223,019    97,290,852 
                                         ------------  ------------ 
 
 
 Non-current liabilities 
 Interest-bearing loans 
  and borrowings                   14         267,212       246,395 
 Provisions                        15       3,884,511     3,262,406 
 Deferred tax liability                    15,941,435    12,144,644 
 Total non-current liabilities             20,093,158    15,653,445 
                                         ------------  ------------ 
 
 
 Current liabilities 
 Trade and other payables                   5,382,368     4,134,530 
 Interest-bearing loans 
  and borrowings                   14         150,828       174,799 
 Current tax liability                          1,181     1,519,406 
 Total current liabilities                  5,534,377     5,828,735 
                                         ------------  ------------ 
 Total liabilities                         25,627,535    21,482,180 
                                         ------------  ------------ 
 Total liabilities and 
  shareholders' equity                    138,850,554   118,773,032 
                                         ------------  ------------ 
 

6. Equity-accounted investees consist of a 50% interest in a joint venture research and development project, TS Consortium, which operates a pilot pelletiser plant in South Africa.

7. Other financial assets consist of the investment linked to the rehabilitation insurance guarantee included in non-current assets and the loan receivable granted to TS Consortium from Sylvania South Africa (Pty) Ltd, a South African subsidiary of the Group.

8. Lesedi assets have been brought in at management's estimate of fair value. A full audited fair value exercise will be carried out at year end.

9. The majority of the cash and cash equivalents are held in South Africa and ZAR denominated balances make up $8,146,356 (ZAR 101,146,709) of the total cash and cash equivalents balance.

10. Trade and other receivables consist mainly of amounts receivable for the sale of PGMs.

   11.                   Inventory held is stores and consumables for the SDO. 

12. The total number of issued ordinary shares at 31 December 2017 is 291,133,661 Ordinary Shares of US$0.01 each (including 4,528,967 shares held in treasury). A total of 6,848,235 shares were cancelled during the half year ending 31 December 2017.

13. Reserves include the share premium reserve, foreign currency translation reserve, which is used to record exchange differences arising from the translation of financial statements of foreign controlled entities, share-based payments reserve, reserve for own shares, the non-controlling interests reserve and the equity reserve.

14. Interest bearing loans and borrowings are secured instalment sale agreements over various motor vehicles and plant and equipment.

15. Provision is made for the present value of closure, restoration and environmental rehabilitation costs in the financial period when the related environmental disturbance occurs.

C. EXPLORATION AND OPENCAST MINING PROJECTS

Volspruit Platinum Exploration

The Company continues to await a decision by the Member of the Executive Council for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism on the Company's appeal to set aside the decision of the LEDET to refuse the Company's application for an EA for the Volspruit Platinum project.

The MRA to mine PGMs was granted during the period however this has been appealed by I&APs. The Company now awaits the outcome on a decision by the DMR.

Once a decision is given on the EA and MRA appeals, the Company will submit the WULA, which has been completed and exposed to the scrutiny of Public Participation, with only the detail design of civil infrastructure as called for in the NWA outstanding.

Grasvally Chrome Exploration

During the period the Company continued with off-site processing and beneficiation testing of the initial 6,167 tons of the planned 15,000 tons of ROM Bulk Sample. A further 9,000 tons has been blasted but not yet excavated as further processing will only continue pending results of the initial beneficiation testing. Completion of phase 1 of the Grasvally Bulk Sample is planned to occur on-site following the granting by the Minister of Water and Sanitation of the Integrated Waste and Water Use License for Chrome Ore Bulk Sample Operations as this will allow the processing and beneficiation testing of the Bulk Sample on site at the Grasvally Operation.

D. CORPORATE ACTIVITIES

Exercise of Share Options, Share Buybacks and Cancellation of Shares

During the period, certain Directors and senior management exercised vested options awarded to them under the Company's Option Plan as well as the deferred share awards granted in accordance with the Bonus Shares Plan. Once exercised the vested Options and Bonus Shares converted into 4,602,900 Ordinary $0.01 Shares and shares held in treasury were used to satisfy these awards.

As the Company does not intend to grant any further Options under the Option Plan, the Board took the decision to cancel the Option Plan.

In August 2017, the Company announced the details of its Share Buyback Programme, offered to small, non-UK based shareholders who, on the delisting from the ASX in 2012, may have been prohibited from selling their shares due to the cost and administrative burden of trading certificated shares outside of the UK. By the end of the reporting period, the Company had purchased a total of 1,957,306 Ordinary $0.01 Shares at a price of A$0.1619 per Ordinary Share under the Programme. Total expenditure on the Programme at the end of the reporting period amounts to A$316,887. Shares purchased in accordance with this Programme are placed into Treasury to be cancelled.

During the reporting period the Board approved the cancellation of 6,848,235 Ordinary Shares. Of the Ordinary Shares cancelled, 3,515,224 were held in treasury and the balance of 3,333,011 Ordinary Shares were shares acquired in the market and cancelled immediately. Accordingly, at the end of the period the Company's issued share capital was 291,133,661 Ordinary Shares, of which a total of 4,528,967 Ordinary Shares were held in Treasury. Therefore, the total number of Ordinary Shares with voting rights in Sylvania was 286,604,694 Ordinary Shares.

CORPORATE INFORMATION

 
 Registered and         Sylvania Platinum Limited 
  postal address: 
                        Clarendon House 
                        2 Church Street 
                        Hamilton HM 11 
                        Bermuda 
 
 SA Operations postal   PO Box 976 
  address: 
                        Florida Hills, 1716 
                        South Africa 
 
 

Sylvania Website: www.sylvaniaplatinum.com

CONTACT DETAILS

 
 For further information, 
  please contact: 
 Terence McConnachie (Chief 
  Executive Officer)              +44 777 533 7175 
 
 Nominated Advisor and Broker 
 Liberum Capital Limited          +44 (0) 20 3100 2000 
 Neil Elliot / Richard Crawley 
 
 Communications 
 Alma PR Limited                  +44 (0) 77 8090 1979 
 Josh Royston / Helena Bogle 
  / Hilary Buchanan 
 

1. The financial information contained in this announcement does not comprise full financial statements.

2. The consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a historical cost basis. The consolidated financial information is presented in US Dollars.

ANNEXURE

 
 GLOSSARY OF TERMS FY2018 
 The following definitions apply throughout the period: 
                     4E PGM ounces include the precious metal elements 
 4E PGMs              Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium and Gold 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
                     6E ounces include the 4E elements plus additional 
 6E PGMs              Iridium and Ruthenium 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 AGM                 Annual General Meeting 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
                     Alternative Investment Market of the London 
 AIM                  Stock Exchange 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
                     Production costs plus all costs relating to 
 All-in sustaining    sustaining current production and sustaining 
  cost                capital expenditure. 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
                     All-in sustaining cost plus non-sustaining and 
 All-in cost          expansion capital expenditure 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 ASX                 Australian Securities Exchange 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
                     Sylvania Platinum Limited Bonus Share Award 
 Bonus Shares         Plan 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 CGU                 Cash generating unit 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
                     Fresh chrome tails from current operating host 
 Current risings      mines processing operations 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 DMR                 Department of Mineral Resources 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
                     Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation 
 EBITDA               and amortisation 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 EA                  Environmental Authorisation 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 EIA                 Environmental Impact Assessment 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 EIR                 Effective interest rate 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 EMPR                Environmental Management Programme Report 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 GBP                 Great British Pound 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 IASB                International Accounting Standards Board 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
                     International Financial Reporting Interpretation 
 IFRIC                Committee 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 IFRS                International Financial Reporting Standards 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 I&APs               Interested and Affected Parties 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 Ironveld            Ironveld Plc 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 IRR                 Internal Rate of Return 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 JV                  Joint venture 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
                     Limpopo Department of Economic Development, 
 LEDET                Environment and Tourism 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
                     Phoenix Platinum Mining Proprietary Limited, 
 Lesedi               renamed Sylvania Lesedi 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 LSE                 London Stock Exchange 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 LTI                 Lost time injury 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 MF2                 Milling and flotation technology 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
                     Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development 
 MPRDA                Act 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 MRA                 Mining Right Application 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 MTO                 Mining Titles Office 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 NOMR                New Order Mining Right 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 NWA                 National Water Act 36 of 1998 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 Option Plan         Sylvania Platinum Limited Share Option Plan 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
                     Platinum group metals comprising mainly platinum, 
 PGM                  palladium, rhodium and gold 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 PAR                 Pan African Resources Plc 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
                     Phoenix Platinum Mining Proprietary Limited, 
 Phoenix              renamed Sylvania Lesedi 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 Pipeline 
  ounces             6E ounces delivered but not invoiced 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 Pipeline            Revenue recognised for ounces delivered, but 
  revenue             not yet invoiced based on contractual timelines 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
                     Adjustments to pipeline revenues based on the 
 Pipeline             basket price for the period between delivery 
  sales adjustment    and invoicing 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 Programme           Sylvania Platinum Share Buyback Programme 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 Project Echo        Secondary PGM Milling and Flotation (MF2) program 
                      announced in FY2017 to design and install additional 
                      new additional fine grinding mills and flotation 
                      circuits at Millsell, Doornbosch, Tweefontein 
                      and Mooinooi. 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 Revenue (by         Revenue earned on Ruthenium, Iridium, Nickel 
  products)           and Copper 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 ROM                 Run of mine 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 SDO                 Sylvania dump operations 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 Shares              Common shares 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
                     Sylvania Platinum Limited, a company incorporated 
 Sylvania             in Bermuda 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 USD                 United States Dollar 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 WULA                Water Use Licence Application 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
                     United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern 
 UK                   Ireland 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 ZAR                 South African Rand 
------------------  ------------------------------------------------------ 
 

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

IR SELSMMFASEFE

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February 26, 2018 02:01 ET (07:01 GMT)

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