South32 said it had exceeded production in the fourth quarter to June 30. On July 1, the group announced the sale of its aluminium value chain business to Alcoa, a deal that included Hillside Aluminium in Richards Bay, but excluded Mozal in Mozambique, which is on care and maintenance.
Global resources group South32 exceeded production guidance, generated strong operating results and accelerated its portfolio transition to base metals in the three months to June 30.
The share price of the Australia-based group increased 4.47% to R47,41 on the JSE Monday morning after the release of a quarterly report, indicating investors generally viewed the fourth quarter production favourably. The share was also a robust 35% higher than a year before.
"We increased quarterly sales volumes by 15%, capturing the benefit of strong market conditions across many of our commodities, and releasing working capital which added to the group's cash generation,” said the CEO Matt Daley in a statement on Monday. Daley became CEO on July 1 this year.
During the quarter, Hillside Aluminium's saleable production was largely unchanged at 717kt in the 2026 financial year, as the smelter in Richards Bay, South Africa continued to test its maximum technical capacity despite the impact of load shedding. Production guidance for the 2027 year was unchanged at 720,000 tons. Its sales increased 10% in the fourth quarter due to a carry-over shipment from the prior quarter.
