29th Mar 2023 10:03
(Alliance News) - Central Asia Metals PLC said on Wednesday its annual pretax profit plunged and revenue fell amid exceptional costs.
Central Asia is a London-based copper, zinc and lead production and exploration company, with operations in Kazakhstan and North Macedonia.
The company said its 2022 pretax profit halved to USD54.6 million from USD109.3 million the year prior. This result reflects a non-cash impairment charge of USD55.1 million related to its Sasa zinc-lead operation in northern Macedonia.
Central Asia said revenue subsided by 1.1% to USD220.9 million from USD223.4 million in 2021. This attributed this to deductions such as silver purchases for the Sasa silver stream and offtake buyers' fees, the firm explained.
Additionally, Central Asia is paying a full year dividend of 20 pence per share, unchanged from 2021.
Looking ahead, Central Asia said its momentum has continued into 2023 and remains in a strong position to grow. It counts on extracting between 19,000 and 21,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate, down at least 2.2% from 21,473 tonnes in 2022, and between 27,000 and 29,000 tonnes of lead in concentrate at its Sasa project, compared to 27,354 tonnes in 2022. Between 13,000 and 14,000 tonnes of copper are expected to be produced in its Kounrad plant in Kazakhstan, at least 1.8% lower than 14,254 tonnes in 2022.
The firm said it anticipates its capital expenditure to be between USD28 million and USD30 million in 2023.
Chief Executive Officer Nigel Robinson said: "We ended 2022 with a strong balance sheet, having made the final payment on our corporate debt facility in August, with cash in the bank of USD60.6 million."
Shares were down 5.7% at 237.11 pence in London on Wednesday morning.
By Sabrina Penty; Alliance News reporter
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