LONDON, UK: Anglo American Platinum, the world’s largest platinum producer, announced its annual results for 2023 on Monday, showing a sharp decline in earnings and profitability due to lower prices for platinum group metals (PGMs) and higher costs.

The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) dropped by 67% to R24 billion, compared to R73 billion in 2022. The main driver of the decrease was a 35% fall in the PGM dollar basket price, which affected the value of the company’s output and inventory. Palladium and rhodium, two key PGMs used in catalytic converters, saw their prices plunge by 44% and 49%, respectively, in 2023.

The company also faced operational challenges, such as infrastructure closures, poor ground conditions and lower grades at some of its mines, which reduced its metal-in-concentrate production by 5% to 3.8 million ounces. Refined production was also 1% lower, partly due to power outages caused by Eskom, the state-owned utility company.

Despite these headwinds, the company managed to increase its sales volumes by 2% and maintain a positive net cash position of R15.4 billion at the end of the year. It also declared a total dividend of R5.7 billion, or R21.30 per share, for 2023, representing a 40% payout ratio of its headline earnings.

Craig Miller, the CEO of Anglo American Platinum, said that the company had taken steps to improve its operational performance and reduce its costs in response to the challenging market conditions. He also highlighted some positive developments, such as the debottlenecking projects at Unki and Mototolo mines, which increased their concentrator throughput by 14% and 50%, respectively.

Miller said that the company remained committed to delivering value to its shareholders, customers, employees and communities, while pursuing its vision of re-imagining mining to improve people’s lives. He added that the company was optimistic about the long-term outlook for PGMs, especially as they play a vital role in enabling a low-carbon economy.