OM Holdings Shares Slip After $12m Loss Report

OM Holdings (OMH) shares slipped 6.17 per cent to 38 cents on early trade today after the manganese miner reported that it is expecting a $12 million loss for the 2011 calendar. The miner blames high Australian dollar and one-off costs for the loss in the previous year.

According to the manganese miner, the record production of OM Holdings at its Bootu Creek manganese mine in the Northern Territory and Qinzhou smelter in China had been offset by low manganese prices. The average manganese ore benchmark price last year was 25 per cent down compared to the previous year due to strong Australian dollar.

With these factors added to the legal and professional fees that OM Holdings had to pay for its discontinued Hong Kong market listing, the miner is now expecting a $12 million consolidated operating loss for the 2011 calendar.

OM Holdings' comprehensive financial performance for 2011 will be provided in late February.