By Reuters Staff

       2 Min Read

       JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South African miner Kumba Iron Ore reported a nearly three-fold increase in interim earnings on Tuesday and hiked its dividend payout, as higher iron ore prices and increased production boosted profit.

       FILE PHOTO: Haul trucks are seen at Kumba Iron Ore in Khathu, Northern Cape province, South Africa, November 15, 2011. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

       The company, a unit of Anglo American, raised its interim dividend to 72.70 rand from 19.60 rand per share a year ago, equalling 100% of its headline earnings,

       Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) AMSJ.J, another Anglo American group subsidiary, also declared a record interim dividend of 175 rand per share on Monday after half-year earnings soared on the back of higher metals prices. [nL1N2P20A1]

       Johannesburg-listed Kumba reported a jump in diluted headline earnings per share of 178% to 72.56 rand for the six months ended on June 30, up from 26.13 rand a year earlier.

       “We have earned effectively the equivalent of what we have earned in the whole of last year in just six months,” Kumba’s chief executive Themba Mkhwanazi said during a call.

       EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) for the half-year jumped 155% to 44.4 billion rand ($3 billion), with the company closing with net cash of 40.7 billion rand.

       Kumba recorded an average realised export price increase of 137% driven by supply disruptions and a recovery in China’s economy, and expected iron ore prices to remain supported but grow at a slower pace compared with the first half.

       Kumba said production rose 12% during the period to 20.4 million tonnes, despite above-average rainfall affecting operations and logistics in the Northern Cape region home to its mines.

       The miner cut its annual sales guidance by 1 million tonnes to between 39.5 to 40.5 million tonnes due to potential impact from weather, logistics disruptions and a maintenance shutdown in the second half of the year.

       ($1=14.8003 rand)

       Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Joe Bavier

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