Aquarius Platinum's Chief Executive has admitted he 'could not have been more wrong' about the worst being behind the company as it plunged into the red, hit by the ongoing difficult operating and trading conditions facing the company and the southern African platinum industry.

A profit before tax of $130m in the second half of 2010 turned to a loss of $135.7m in the same period in 2011, while revenue was $252.4m, down from $336.2m the previous year.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Stuart Murray maintained that the results should "come as no surprise to shareholders" even though he has previously stated that the firm was through the worst.

"I could not have been more wrong," said Murray, who presumably has not heard of Murphy's Law, which states that anything which can go wrong will go wrong.

"Until we reach a turning point, we remain committed to the constant re-evaluation and optimisation of all aspects of our business and operations in the current low margin environment with a focus on cash preservation," Murray added.

He continued: "From an operational perspective the period under review has been a most challenging one, but it must also be remembered that the reported net loss and resulting negative earnings per share (EPS) figure are rather exaggerated by a substantial non-cash foreign exchange loss generated by the revaluation of inter-company loans as a result of volatile exchange rate conditions."

EPS fell from 20.43p to -24.31p year-on-year, while cash at the end of the period was $230m (2010: 368.5m). The Rand weakened by 7% on average against the dollar.

The share price fell 1.6% to 159.90p by 08:22.

NR

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