REG-Pan African Resources Plc: Trading Statement for six months ended 31 Dec 18

Pan African ResourcesAnnouncement

13/02/2019 07:05

Pan African Resources PLC

("Pan African" or “the company" or “the group”)

(Incorporated and registered in England and Wales under Companies Act 1985
with registered number 3937466 on 25 February 2000)

Share code on AIM: PAF

Share code on JSE: PAN

ISIN: GB0004300496

TRADING STATEMENT FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2018

In terms of paragraph 3.4(b) of the Listings Requirements of the JSE Limited,
a listed company is required to publish a trading statement as soon as it is
satisfied a reasonable degree of certainty exists that the financial results
for the period to be reported upon next, will differ by at least 20% from
those of the previous corresponding period.

Pan African is incorporated in England and Wales and, accordingly, its
presentation currency is pounds sterling (“GBP”) with a functional
currency in South African rand (“ZAR” or “R”).

The ZAR:GBP exchange rate affects the reporting of results in GBP. For the six
month reporting period ended 31 December 2018 (“current reporting
period”), the average prevailing ZAR:GBP exchange rate is used, and in the
event of material transactions, the exchange rate on the date of the material
transaction is used to translate earnings from ZAR to GBP. 

For the six months ended 31 December 2017 (“corresponding reporting
period”), the average ZAR:GBP exchange rate was ZAR17.65:1. For the current
reporting period, the ZAR depreciated against the GBP to an average exchange
rate of ZAR18.36:1. This 4.0% period-on-period depreciation in the average
exchange rate should be taken into account when comparing the current
reporting period’s results with the corresponding reporting period’s
results.  

The group records its revenue from precious metals sales in ZAR. The
depreciation in the value of the ZAR/USD exchange rate during the current
reporting period positively impacted the USD revenue received when translated
into ZAR. In the current reporting period, the average ZAR/USD exchange rate
depreciated by 6.0% to ZAR14.19:1 (2017: ZAR13.39:1).

Due to the cessation of large-scale underground mining at Evander Gold Mining
Proprietary Limited (“Evander Mines”), which includes 8 Shaft, 7 Shaft and
the run-of-mine circuit in the Kinross metallurgical plant, the financial
results from Evander Mines’ underground operations for the corresponding
reporting period were classified as discontinued operations (“discontinued
operations”). The corresponding reporting period’s figures have therefore
been restated to differentiate between discontinued operations and the results
from the continuing operations. The combined results comprise the results of
the continuing operations and discontinued operations (“combined
operations”).

In the current reporting period, the group’s weighted average number of
shares in issue increased by 7.2% to 1,928,329,479 shares (2017: 1,798,329,479
shares). The increase in the weighted average number of shares in issue is due
to the disposal of 130-million Pan African shares held by PAR Gold Proprietary
Limited (“PAR Gold”), which resulted in a commensurate increase in the
weighted average number of shares in issue, as these shares had previously
been accounted for as treasury shares. The proceeds from the disposal of the
Pan African shares held by PAR Gold were partly used to fund the incorporation
of the existing throughput from the Evander Tailing Retreatment Plant
(“ETRP”) into Elikhulu’s processing capacity, which resulted in an
increased capacity to 1.2-million tonnes per month.

ZAR range for EPS and HEPS:

Pan African advises shareholders that its earnings per share (“EPS”) and
headline earnings per share (“HEPS”) in ZAR terms, from its combined
operations for the current reporting period, are expected to be:
* EPS: 116% to 126% higher than the 3.23 cents per share for the corresponding
reporting period, resulting in an expected EPS range of between 6.98 to 7.30
cents per share.
* HEPS: 99% to 109% higher than the 3.51 cents per share for the corresponding
reporting period, resulting in an expected HEPS range of between 6.98 to 7.34
cents per share.
EPS and HEPS, in ZAR terms, from the group’s continuing operations, for the
current reporting period are expected to range between 8% to 18% higher than
the 6.34 cents per share reported in the corresponding reporting period,
resulting in an expected EPS and HEPS range of between 6.85 to 7.48 cents per
share.

GBP range for EPS and HEPS:

In GBP terms, EPS and HEPS from the group’s combined operations for the
current reporting period, are expected to be:
* EPS: 112% to 122% higher than the 0.18 pence for the corresponding reporting
period, resulting in an expected EPS range of between 0.38 to 0.40 pence per
share.
* HEPS: 90% to 100% higher than the 0.20 pence for the corresponding reporting
period, resulting in an expected HEPS range of between 0.38 to 0.40 pence per
share.
In GBP terms, EPS and HEPS from continuing operations for the current
reporting period, are expected to range between 3% to 13% higher than the 0.36
pence per share reported in the corresponding reporting period, resulting in
an expected EPS and HEPS range of between 0.37 to 0.41 pence per share.

The financial information contained in this announcement has neither been
reviewed nor audited by the company’s external auditors. The group’s
unaudited interim results for the period ended 31 December 2018 will be
released on 20 February 2019.

For further information on Pan African, please visit the company’s website
at www.panafricanresources.com.

13 February 2019

 Contact information                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
 Corporate Office The Firs Office Building 2nd Floor, Office 204 Cnr. Cradock and Biermann Avenues Rosebank, Johannesburg South Africa Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900 Facsimile: + 27 (0)11 880 1240  Registered Office Suite 31 Second Floor 107 Cheapside London EC2V 6DN United Kingdom Office: + 44 (0)20 7796 8644  
 Cobus Loots Pan African Resources PLC Chief Executive Officer Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900                                                                                                         Deon Louw Pan African Resources PLC Financial Director Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900                                 
 Phil Dexter St James's Corporate Services Limited Company Secretary Office: + 44 (0)20 7796 8644                                                                                                  John Prior/Paul Gillam Numis Securities Limited Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker Office: +44 (0)20 7260 1000     
 Marian Gaylard Questco Corporate Advisory Proprietary Limited JSE Sponsor Office: + 27 (0)11 011 9200                                                                                             Ross Allister/David McKeown Peel Hunt LLP Joint Broker Office: +44 (0)20 7418 8900                                 
 Julian Gwillim Aprio Strategic Communications Public & Investor Relations SA Office: +27 (0)11 880 0037                                                                                           Jeffrey Couch/Thomas Rider BMO Capital Markets Limited Joint Broker Office: +44 (0)20 7236 1010                    
 Bobby Morse/Chris Judd Buchanan Public & Investor Relations UK Office: +44 (0)20 7466 5000 paf@buchanan.uk.com                                                                                    Website: www.panafricanresources.com                                                                               



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