Paladin Energy under pressure to flog assets The Australian, BY: ROSS KELLY Wall Street Journal April 26, 2012 PALADIN Energy still needs to offload assets to meet looming debt payments and funding requirements, according to Citigroup, which has nominated two of the uranium miner’s non-producing assets in Australia and Canada as possible candidates for divestment……“If the cash squeeze became very acute on Paladin the company could also look to sell an interest in a producing asset,” Citigroup says.
Archive for the ‘Paladin’ Category
Paladin Uranium’s financial problems
April 28, 2012Gloom and doom for Paladin Uranium
April 28, 2012Paladin misses targets, shares drop, Peter Ker April 16, 2012 Shares in Paladin Energy are sliding lower this
morning, after the uranium miner revealed it had missed production targets yet again and had been forced to reduce its annual production targets.
Uranium production at Paladin’s flagship Langer Heinrich mine was 10 per cent below the company’s target during the first three months of2012, while its secondary mine also missed its production targets.
The missed targets, combined with concerns over Paladin’s debt, was pushing shares were down by 3 cents to 1.77 shortly after 11am…. Many analysts are concerned about Paladin’s debt levels, and the company is looking to sell minority stakes in its non-producing assets as a way to boost cashflow.
Concerns over the debt situation prompted Patersons Securities to downgrade Paladin to a sell earlier this month.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/paladin-misses-targets-shares-drop-20120416-1x2od.html#ixzz1sQlkNcbp
Uranium miners exploit African countries in skewed contract deals
February 26, 2012IGF’s views follow remarks by Reserve Bank of Malawi Governor Perks Ligoya last December during which he protested the generous allowances the Malawi government provided to Australia’s Paladin Energy in the Kayelekera uranium mining deal in Karonga.
Mining deals worry industry grouping The Daily Times, 21 February 2012 Isaac Masingati An international mining industry grouping, Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF), says it is concerned with contracts between investors and governments especially in developing countries, saying they tend to be skewed in favour the investor.
IGF President Leonard Kalindekafe told the Business Times in Zomba on Friday that there was a concern among members of the grouping that some investors were taking advantage of governments’ lack of expertise to strike deals that bring little profits. ”This is a big concern to the Forum because some bona fide countries are not able to realise full benefits from their minerals,” he said. (more…)
Paladin Uranium’s ghastly share collapse and profit loss
February 26, 2012Paladin’s annus horribilis worsens, The Age, Peter Ker February 15, 2012 URANIUM miner Paladin Energy has managed to underwhelm the market yet again, despite the worst aspects of yesterday’s $US120.2 million loss being known for several months.
Investors wiped more than 5 per cent off the value of the stock … The loss was largely due to a $US133 million write-down on the value of Paladin’s Kayelekera mine in Malawi. Paladin revealed the write-down to the market late last year. …
the market was not impressed. Analysts at Goldman Sachs said the result was worse than expected, and by the close of trading 10¢ had been shaved off Paladin’s share price, taking it to $1.70 - dramatically lower than the $5.40 it was fetching less than a year ago.
Some of the negativity appeared to be linked to ballooning expenses, despite chief executive John Borshoff cutting his own pay by 25 per cent and reducing exploration in an effort to rein in costs.
From $US31 a pound in the first half of 2010, Paladin’s costs rose to $US34 a pound in the six months to December 31, and costs at the Kayelekera mine were as high as $US46 a pound in the final quarter of last year. http://www.theage.com.au/business/paladins-annus-horribilis-worsens-20120214-1t45b.html#ixzz1mVWU3qJN
Mining companies skew contracts against African countries
February 24, 2012Mining deals worry industry grouping The Daily Times, 21 February 2012 Isaac Masingati An international mining industry grouping, Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF), says it is concerned with contracts between investors and governments especially in developing countries, saying they tend to be skewed in favour the investor.
IGF President Leonard Kalindekafe told the Business Times in Zomba on Friday that there was a concern among members of the grouping that some investors were taking advantage of governments’ lack of expertise to strike deals that bring little profits. ”This is a big concern to the Forum because some bona fide countries are not able to realise full benefits from their minerals,” he said. (more…)
Economic bad news for uranium miners Toro Energy and Paladin
November 28, 2011Oz Minerals pulls out of Toro uranium JV,9 News, 19 Nov 11 OZ Minerals has pulled out of a uranium exploration
joint venture with Toro Energy in South Australia, saying no economic uranium has yet been found at the Mt Woods project.
The Toro board has accepted a $3.75 million cash offer from OZ Minerals as consideration for the termination, Toro said in astatement on Friday. ”No potentially economic uranium results have been reported from the
Mt Woods project,” Toro said…. Shares in Toro were down 3.41 per cent at 8.5 cents at 1540 AEDT while
OZ Mineral shares were 1.89 per cent weaker, compared to losses in the broader market of about 1.8 per cent.
http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newsbusiness/aap/8376270/oz-minerals-pulls-out-of-toro-uranium-jv
Malawi’s uranium earnings decrease, Daily Times, 17 November 2011 Kingsley Jassi “….. As the country continues to reel foreign exchange losses incurred through poor tobacco prices and loss of donor aid, more bad news has emerged from the Kayelekera Uranium Mine in Karonga where earnings have gone down due to low uranium prices on the world market.Paladin Energy reveals in its latest report that revenue from sales of Kayerekera uranium in the third quarter of the year 2011 up to September have dropped US$337 million in the quarter, a drop from USD470 realised in the quarter ending June. The company attributes the poor prices to the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan that destroyed nuclear power plant consequently, reducing uranium demand on the market….
Paladin uranium miner’s share price plunges
November 28, 2011Paladin punished for African shut-downs, THE AUSTRALIAN , November 01, 2011 SHARES in Africa-focused miner Paladin were punished after it reported a fall in uranium production amid weak market prices, despite record sales for the September quarter.
Paladin produced 1.24 million pounds of uranium in the September quarter, a 15 per cent fall compared with 1.46 million pounds in the previous quarter.
The fall was due to shutdowns at Paladin’s operations in Namibia and Malawi, including a ground movement that affected the Malawi mine and reduced its production by 30 per cent.
Paladin shares fell 6.5c, , or 4.2 per cent, to close at $1.50….
Chief executive John Borshoff said the persistent deterioration of the uranium spot price since the Fukushima nuclear accident in March was affecting financial returns..The effects of Fukushima on the industry had highlighted its inability to sustain production growth in an orderly way, he said.
Uranium prices had recently fallen to levels of about $US50 a pound, last seen after Japan’s nuclear accident, causing grief to struggling Australian producers such as Paladin. Paladin’s shares have slumped 70 per cent this year, mainly because of the Fukushima accident.
Australian company Paladin – uranium losses with frequent shutdowns at Kayerekera Mine
November 28, 2011Shutdowns affect Kayerekera production ,The Daily Times, , 02 November 2011 Kingsley Jassi
Frequent shutdowns at Paladin’s Kayerekera Uranium Mine have affected production, incurring the Australian company a loss of 140,000 pounds of the yellow cake in the quarter ending September, a recently released report has said.
The mine produced 395,478 pounds of uranium as compared to 566,248 pounds at the end of the June quarter, according to the report signed by Managing Director, John Borshoff…….
Paladin uranium company getting pretty desperate about share price fall
November 4, 2011Paladin chief slashes his pay, SMH, Peter Ker,November 1, 2011 PALADIN Energy boss John Borshoff has taken the knife to his $2.5 million salary, in the latest chapter of a miserable year for the struggling uranium miner.
Barely 10 months after enjoying a 5 per cent pay rise, Mr Borshoff has agreed to reduce his pay by 25 per cent as part of a drive to reduce administration costs at the Africa-focused company. The pay cut coincided with a lacklustre quarterly report from Paladin, which has earned a reputation for over-promising and under-delivering. ……… mine production targets were missed by 15 per cent over the past three months, while the company’s forecasts for the uranium price also proved too optimistic.
But the cut to Mr Borshoff’s pay was the stand-out item in the report, and comes after much agitation from investors who have watched the share price plummet since the Japanese nuclear disaster in March. Mr Borshoff’s remuneration package was worth $2.522 million in the year to June 2011, up from $1.9 million the year before.
That increase to his remuneration, which included a 5 per cent rise in fixed pay, came in a year when Paladin made an increased trading loss of $US82.3 million. The company sought to justify Mr Borshoff’s remuneration by describing him as a ”recognised global authority” on nuclear power, whose expertise was in ”extremely limited supply” around the world….
Paladin shares fell 6.5¢ to $1.50 yesterday. The stock was fetching $5 in March before the Fukushima nuclear disaster damaged investor confidence in the uranium sector…. http://www.smh.com.au/business/paladin-chief-slashes-his-pay-20111031-1ms4l.html#ixzz1cV3q88BL
Uranium miners Paladin and Uranex have an ‘annus horribilis’
October 4, 2011Paladin raising fails to impress, SMH, Peter Ker, September 30, 2011 ”……Paladin has endured an annus horribilus this year, as an easing uranium price, rising costs, reduced production targets and concerns about debts have savaged the company’s share price to barely a quarter of its former value…..
Paladin closed 14¢ lower at $1.17, the company’s lowest share price since June 2005….
Paladin is not the only uranium play seeking funds. Uranex wants to raise $4.7 million through a placement to institutional investors and a share offer to existing shareholders….
