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AfriTin Mining Ltd on Thursday said its loss widened in the first half of its financial year, after higher fuel and maintenance spending caused cost of sales to rise despite a decline in revenue.
The technology metals mining company focused on Namibia recorded a pretax loss of £3.7 million for the six months that ended August 31, compared to a loss of £504,274 a year before.
Revenue declined 7.8% to £4.7 million from £5.1 million. Tin prices fell, AfriTin said, and the effect of this was compounded by delayed shipments settling at prices lower than original prepayment rates.
The company has since changed shipping lines to "speed up" shipping timelines.
Cost of sales were £5.7 million, rising from £4.0 million in the first half of financial 2022. AfriTin said this is because of rising fuel prices, spending on expansion, and higher maintenance costs due to unplanned stoppages.
AfriTin expects cost issues to be resolved in the second half year, as it grows into the costs with higher production levels and as maintenance costs are expected to reduce.
Chief Executive Anthony Viljoen said: "From a macroeconomics perspective, we have also seen tin prices drop drastically in recent months, although the inverse has occurred with regard to lithium prices. This further cements the group's strategy to accelerate and unlock lithium and tantalum, as we continue to organically grow the operations and move into a lower unit cost position."
AfriTin shares were down 3.3% to 4.45 pence at midday on Thursday in London.
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