Jubilee Metals : reports strong start to its second half after completion of Inyoni chrome and PGM facility

Jubilee Metals Group PLC (AIM:JLP, JSE:JBL, OTC:JUBPF) said the second half of its financial year had started strongly following the completion of its fully integrated, Inyoni chrome and PGM facility in South Africa at the end of 2021.

The metals processing company saw its first-half attributable earnings fall to £19.5mln, from £30.9mln in the year-earlier period, mainly because work on the facility reduced operating capacity.

The lower-than-average PGM basket price, which was down 35% over the interim period, also contributed to the decline in earnings, although the company noted a strong recovery at the end of 2021 and beyond.

Revenue rose 18% to £63mln in the six months to end December 2021, driven mainly by the sharp increase in chrome processing capacity.

The new Inyoni facility further increases Jubilee's access to chrome processing capacity, to about 3 million tonnes a year, making the company one of the world's largest chrome processors. It also lifts the Inyoni PGM production potential capacity to about 44,000 PGM ounces per annum, offsetting any short-term production loss linked to the construction phase, the company said.

The facility was only able to operate at full capacity for 41% of the time during the six months to end December 2021.

The proportion of PGM ounces now produced that are fully attributable to Jubilee has significantly increased compared with the considerable dilution of earnings caused historically by the Windsor PGM joint venture, where 40% of earnings was attributable to the JV partner, it said.

"The first half of the financial year saw the group ramp-up our investment into both our South African and Zambian operations," said chief executive Leon Coetzer.

"In South Africa we completed the new fully integrated Inyoni chrome and PGM operations to deliver not only a facility able to process a variety of sourced feed materials, fully attributable to us, but also reducing Jubilee's reliance on its Windsor JV agreement to produce its declared PGM ounces."

The company completed the Inyoni facility in November and ramped back up to full production during December 2021.

"The benefits from the completion of our Inyoni facility have been seen already and the second half of the financial year has started strongly with monthly production levels being reflective of the new facility as it reaches full design capacity," said Coetzer.