| Wed 20 Feb 2008, 11:00 | | PET - Petmin - Trading update and issue of shares |
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PET
PET
PET - Petmin - Trading update and issue of shares
PETMIN LIMITED
(Formerly Petra Mining Limited)
Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa
Registration Number 1972/001062/06
JSE Code: PET ISIN: ZAE000076014
AIM Code: PTMN
("Petmin", "the company" or "the group")
TRADING UPDATE AND ISSUE OF SHARES
Petmin Limited(JSE: PET, AIM: PTMN) maintains a primary listing on the JSE, and
as such is required to publish a trading statement if its basic earnings per
share, headline earnings per share are net asset value per share is expected to
change by more than 20% compared with the previous reporting period.
Earnings and Veremo update
Petmin announces that the Company`s headline earnings per share for the six
months to 31 December 2007 are expected to be circa R0,065 per share, up from
R0,0296 per share for the six months ended 31 December 2006, representing an
increase of 120%. This growth in headline earnings per share was achieved as a
result of the anthracite division delivering increased production from the
Somkhele project which was successfully brought into production in June 2007,
and because of an improved performance from the Springlake Colliery.
Basic earnings per share for the half year ending 31 December 2007 is expected
to be approximately R0.19 per share, up 118% from R0.087 per share for the six
months ended 31 December 2006. The difference between the headline and basic
earnings per share is due to the IFRS fair value valuation on acquisition of
Veremo Holdings Limited ("Veremo"), resulting in a profit of R61.7 million being
recognized on the acquisition of a 16.2% stake in Veremo. This acquisition is
the first phase of a series of transactions that will ultimately result in
Petmin holding a 25% interest in Veremo.
Veremo is a large-scale iron ore mining and pig iron beneficiation project
situated in the province of Mpumalanga, South Africa. The Company anticipates
that the project will be in production within four years. The current unaudited
resource figures reflect measured resources of 11,593,125 tonnes and indicated
resources of 921,358,728 tonnes. The resource modeling and a SAMREC-compliant
Competent Persons Report is under way and should be completed before June 2008.
The company expects to release its reviewed interim results on 10 March 2008.
Issue of Shares
On 19 February 2008, under the general authority of the directors, Petmin issued
15,000,000 shares in the Company. The Company now has 526,713,602 shares in
issue, with the new shareholding representing 2.85% of the total shares in
issue.
The shares were issued at R3.08 per share, being the volume weighted average
price less 10% on the agreement date of 5 February 2008. In line with Petmin`s
objective to increase its international shareholder base, the shares were issued
to a major international financial institution.
The funds raised by the share issue will, inter alia, be utilised by Petmin`s
subsidiaries to acquire alternative sources of power supply to mitigate the
effect of potential power interruptions or load shedding, and to fund the
accelerated exploration and production plan at Somkhele. At this stage it is
anticipated that the increase in the operating cost resulting from the
alternative power supply will not have a material effect on the medium-term
profitability of Petmin`s operations.
Petmin is evaluating the impact of the power interruptions and will provide more
detail in respect of their effect on the Company`s operations when the full
impact is known.
This announcement has not been reviewed or audited by the Company`s auditors.
Johannesburg
20 February 2008
Corporate Avisor and Sponsor
River Group +27 12 346 8540
Nominated Adviser & Broker
Numis Securities Limited +44 20 7260 1000
John Harrison
Stuart Skinner
Public Relations
Russel & Associates, +27 11 880 3924
Shelagh Blackman
Parkgreen Communications +44 20 7851 7480
Justine Howarth
Erica Nelson
Date: 20/02/2008 11:00:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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