Metal rebound profits Lonmin

Lonmin, the number three platinum producer, did not declare an interim dividend yesterday, but said it hoped to pay out a final dividend following a rebound in the auto sector, which needs platinum for car catalysts that clean exhaust fumes.

Most investors welcomed the results, largely shrugging off dilution from issuing shares and focussing on good news after years of disappointing results and missed targets.

"The big restructuring they went through last year is starting to pay off. This is a vastly different business from the one we were looking at two years ago, all for the positive," said analyst Rebecca O'Dwyer at Investec Securities.

"From a financial perspective it was a strong set of results. They came in well ahead of what we were forecasting. The cost control in the half has been good."

Other analysts said they were surprised that Lonmin went back to equity markets to raise money only a year after it raised $457m in a rights issue.

"We view the production as a miss, the earnings as a hit and the placing as a disappointment," said analyst Paul Galloway at Bernstein Research.

Normalised earnings per share for the six months to the end of March were 22.8 cents after a restated loss of 47.9 cents in the previous year.