S.Africa's Amplats still weighing disposal options, H1 earnings soar

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JOHANNESBURG, July 20 (Reuters) - South Africa's Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) said on Monday it was still considering how to dispose of its labour-intensive Rustenburg and Union operations but a stock market floatation was a likely option.

"Currently both options for divestment - an Initial Public Offering (IPO) or a trade sale - are still being worked on, and whilst it remains practicable, both options will be kept open," Amplats said in a statement accompanying the release of its first-half results.

Amplats' chief executive Chris Griffith said in a conference call with journalists that he felt an IPO was the more likely option but probably not before early 2017.

The world's top platinum producer also said first-half headline earnings came in at 2.47 billion rand ($200 million), bang in line with what the company previously flagged and an increase of almost 15-fold, underscoring the impact of a five-month strike last year.

That strike, lead by the hardline Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, is one reason why South African platinum assets are not easy to dispose of at the moment, as the labour environment is widely seen as volatile.

Another is platinum's spot price, which last week fell below $1,000 an ounce for the first time in 6-1/2 years, a reflection of weakness across the precious metals' board in the face of a rising dollar.

($1 = 12.3998 rand) (Reporting by Ed Stoddard and Zandi Shabalala; Editing by Tiisetso Motsoeneng)