Just like gold and silver, platinum belongs to the precious metals. But while gold and silver are sought after primarily as inflation-proof tangible and investment assets, platinum is in demand in industry primarily because of its special physical properties.
As with all commodities, price fluctuations are completely normal for platinum, because the price of platinum depends on supply and demand. However, a permanently declining platinum price is more than unlikely. The precious metal is extremely important for Industry 4.0 and for many future technologies.
Platinum producers are therefore also interesting for investors in the long term. One of the world’s leading platinum producers is the South African company Impala Platinum Holdings Limited. In addition to platinum, the company produces other precious metals.
The company
Impala Platinum is a metals and mining company from South Africa focused on the production of precious metals. The company was founded back in 1966 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Impala Platinum Holding Limited is therefore a company that has been established on the market for a long time and has many years of experience. After Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum is now the second largest platinum producer in the world.
In addition to platinum, the company also produces palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, gold and silver. Currently, Impala Platinum operates six active mines. Of these, three are located in South Africa, two in Zimbabwe and one mine in Canada.
Palladium production accounts for the majority of Impala Platinum’s net sales at approximately 38.6 percent. Platinum production accounts for approximately 28 percent of net sales, while rhodium production accounts for approximately 26.8 percent of net sales.
Gold, iridium, ruthenium and silver are produced only in small quantities. In addition, Impala Platinum also mines and sells the base metals nickel, copper, chromium and cobalt. In this business area, nickel is the company’s most important product, accounting for 75.2 percent.
The Impala Platinum Share
Impala Platinum currently has a market capitalization of approximately €12.2 billion. The company’s stock is currently trading at around 14.18 (as of 03/14/2022). Performance over the one-year period shows a slight decline of just over 5 percent.
However, if we look at the price performance over the 3-year period, the Impala Platinum share price is up 311.14 percent. The positive development of the company is also reflected in the sales increases that Impala Platinum has recorded in the last 2 years.
For example, the mining company increased sales at its mines in South Africa by more than 80 percent in 2021 compared with the previous year. At the mine in Zimbabwe, Impala Platinum generated a 39 percent increase in sales during the same period, and in Canada the company even increased its sales by 175 percent.
