Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU) has requested for a trading halt to be placed on the securities with effect from July 29, 2016 at the back of the following:
Potential Transaction: ILU has announced regarding a potential corporate transaction that the company is indulging into. The transaction involves Sierra Rutile Limited (SRL) and the companies are at an advanced discussion stage with regard to ILU going for an all cash offer for SRL. ILU updated that there is no guarantee that the transaction would materialize as the discussions are yet to be completed. Further, the transaction is subject to a limited number of important pre-conditions.
Averting trading on speculations: Given the lack of confidentiality as witnessed so far with regard to the discussions, ILU believed to have requested for the halt in order to avert trading on an uninformed or speculative basis.
The company has requested that the trading halt will remain in place until the earlier of the time the company makes an announcement to the market in relation to the potential transaction and the commencement of trading on August 02, 2016.
.png)
Performance (Source: Company Reports)
Recently, ILU announced its June quarterly production report highlighting that production of zircon/rutile/synthetic rutile (Z/R/SR) has been 334 thousand tonnes, which is as per Iluka’s full year production guidance of ~660 thousand tonnes.
First half production has been higher than sales given sales volumes are expected to be second half weighted. There was a 14.7% rise in total higher value product sales of Z/R/SR of 316 thousand tonnes over the first half of 2015. Further, combined rutile and synthetic rutile sales in the first half of 2016 were 32.2% higher than the first half of 2015. However, lower received US dollar prices for zircon and a greater weighting in the sales mix to synthetic rutile had offset the Z/R/SR sales revenue increase of 3.0 per cent.
The company reported for 10.2 per cent lower unit revenue per tonne at A$1,015 for Z/R/SR against 2015. Overall cash cost of production fell by 19.8 per cent period-on-period to $140.7 million. On the other hand, ILU’s total mineral sands production for the quarter dropped year on year while production levels rose 5.6% year to date at the back of the performance in first quarter. There was a 23.3% fall in total mineral sands sales year to date to $334.1 million from $435.4 million in the prior corresponding period, owing to the poor sales for ilmenite.
The company has advised customers of a US$60/tonne increase in the Zircon Reference Price effective from July 01, 2016. Iluka also updated about its development and exploration programs. For instance, the Balranald definitive feasibility study is progressing well with the evaluation of the conventional development route nearing completion.
Disclaimer
The advice given by Kalkine Pty Ltd and provided on this website is general information only and it does not take into account your investment objectives, financial situation or needs. You should therefore consider whether the advice is appropriate to your investment objectives, financial situation and needs before acting upon it. You should seek advice from a financial adviser, stockbroker or other professional (including taxation and legal advice) as necessary before acting on any advice. Not all investments are appropriate for all people. Kalkine.com.au and associated pages are published by Kalkine Pty Ltd ABN 34 154 808 312 (Australian Financial Services License Number 425376).The information on this website has been prepared from a wide variety of sources, which Kalkine Pty Ltd, to the best of its knowledge and belief, considers accurate. You should make your own enquiries about any investments and we strongly suggest you seek advice before acting upon any recommendation. Kalkine Pty Ltd has made every effort to ensure the reliability of information contained in its newsletters and websites. All information represents our views at the date of publication and may change without notice. To the extent permitted by law, Kalkine Pty Ltd excludes all liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of this website and any information published (including any indirect or consequential loss, any data loss or data corruption). If the law prohibits this exclusion, Kalkine Pty Ltd hereby limits its liability, to the extent permitted by law to the resupply of services. There may be a product disclosure statement or other offer document for the securities and financial products we write about in Kalkine Reports. You should obtain a copy of the product disclosure statement or offer document before making any decision about whether to acquire the security or product. The link to our Terms & Conditions has been provided please go through them and also have a read of the Financial Services Guide. On the date of publishing this report (mentioned on the website), employees and/or associates of Kalkine Pty Ltd currently hold positions in: BHP, BKY, KCN, PDN, and RIO. These stocks can change any time and readers of the reports should not consider these stocks as advice or recommendations.