Vancouver’s Eastern Platinum Limited (TSX:ELR) is ending the year on a high note with a strengthened balance sheet after raising $347.5 million in equity financing.
The company issued 224.2 million shares at a price of $1.55 per share in an equity offering originally announced in November. The offering was issued by a syndicate of underwriters led by Canaccord Genuity Corp. and UBC Securities Canada, and included GMP Securities LP, Goldman Sachs Canada, Raymond James and Paradigm Capital.
Proceeds of the financing will be used for general corporate purposes and to fund the first phase of development of its platinum projects in South Africa. The company said in June phase one would have an estimated cost of US$227 million and will produce approximately 115,000 ounces per year of platinum group metals.
The company has recovered significantly from a couple of challenging years. For the nine-month period ending September 30, the company reported revenue of $109.3 million, up from $77.1 million. Net profit more than doubled to $5.3 million from $2.2 million.
For fiscal 2009, Eastern Platinum reported annual revenue of $111.4 million and a net profit of $1.2 million, compared to revenue of $114.7 million in 2008 and a net loss of $213.1 million due to a $297.3 million impairment.
Eastern Platinum’s share price range during the past week: between $1.75 and $1.81; 52-week high: $1.98; 52-week low: $0.87.