Amplats returns R80bn to investors on record profit

Anglo American Platinum Ltd. said it will pay out R80 billion ($5.3 billion) in dividends after the world’s biggest platinum miner by market value reported bumper profit driven by surging metal prices and higher output.

The Johannesburg-based company’s dividend equates to 100% of headline earnings, it said in a statement on Monday. Amplats declared a second-half payout, including a special dividend, of R33 billion, or R125 a share, raising the full-year return to R80 billion. The payout beefs up the coffers of Anglo American Plc, which owns about 79% of Amplats — one of its most profitable units.

Amplats and its South African peers are reaping windfall income as automaker demand buoys the price of rhodium and palladium — metals produced alongside platinum that are used in devices to curb pollution from gasoline cars. Demand for the metals has remained strong even after chip shortages hampered carmakers’ production last year.

The company said it expects the market balance for PGMs to tighten this year with improving demand, as production of light-duty vehicles increases.