Kumba Iron Ore hikes interim dividend after earnings jump

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African miner Kumba Iron Ore reported on Tuesday a jump of 178% in interim earnings and hiked its dividend payout, boosted by higher iron ore prices and increased production.

The company, a unit of Anglo American, boosted its interim dividend to 72.70 rand from 19.60 rand per share a year ago, equalling 100% of its headline earnings.

The Johannesburg-listed miner reported diluted headline earnings per share of 72.56 rand for the six months ended on June 30, up from 26.13 rand a year earlier.

EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) for the half-year jumped 155% to 44.4 billion rand ($3 billion), with the company closing with net cash of 40.7 billion rand.

Kumba said production rose 12% during the period to 20.4 million tonnes, despite above-average rainfall affecting operations and logistics in the Northern Cape region home to its mines.