Investment holding company Mantengu has dropped more than R300-million in profit for the year dealing a blow to shareholders as earnings per share also fell by R1.01 amid mounting challenges.
In the annual financial statement released on Thursday, the group revealed that the incurred losses were pushed by its silicone carbide business, Sublime technologies, which accounted for R168-million of the total loss. R115-million loss was reported from chrome operations and R26-million from Ridge Platinum, while corporate level recoded R6-million loss.
The sharp decline comes amid rising energy costs, operational disruptions and non-performing assets weighing heavily on the group’s results.
Sublime production halt
Sublime was marked the largest contributor due to production halt in May after the board decided not to restart operations because the company’s special electricity tariff agreement with Eskom had expired at the end of March, negotiations for extension continue dating back to June 2024. However, maintenance was completed.
According to Matengu, resuming production was risky as it would have exposed the operation to an additional electricity cost of about R7-million a month.
“Since shutting down in May 2025, the board has continued to pay full staff salaries and operational costs in anticipation of successfully concluding a deal with Eskom and resuming production.
Retrenchment consultations
“The board announced on 14 May 2026 that it commenced a consultation process with Sublime employees and trade union in terms of Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995. This process is expected to be completed in early August 2026.
“It is no longer viable to continue to incur the full operational costs whilst not generating any income. The R168-million loss in FY 2026 consists of operational costs, the write down on inventory to net realisable value and impairment of intangible and deferred tax assets. The non-cash portion amounted to R76-million,” reads the statement.
The company expects monthly costs at Sublime to fall by around 80% once the restructuring process is completed, which should significantly reduce future losses.
The group’s chrome operations also faced a difficult year, recording a loss of R115-million. Mantegu said severe flooding earlier this year negatively affected profits by R40-million, while a legacy supply agreement at its Langpan operation reduced earnings by a further R29-million.
The company explained that its former offtake partner, RWE Supply and Trading GmbH, exercised a contractual option that allowed it to purchase chrome concentrate at prices below prevailing market levels. Infrastructure costs of R16-million further weighed on results.
Sabotage at Langpan operation
An additional R30-million in losses were incurred during the second half of the financial year, largely due to alleged sabotage at the Langpan operation.
Mantegu said several individuals linked to the incidents are no longer employed by the group and that legal proceedings are underway.
Management said it had attempted to notify the market of the sabotage at the time but was unable to release an announcement after the JSE determined that the information was not price sensitive.
In an effort to improve the performance of the chrome business, Langpan has replaced RWE with HMS Bergbau Africa as its new chrome offtaker and funding partner.
The company believes the new arrangement is better aligned with its long-term strategy and removes pricing mechanisms that previously resulted in chrome being sold below market value.
Blue Ridge Platinum, which came under the group’s control in August 2025, generated a loss of R26-million as the operation has not yet been brought into production and therefore generated no revenue. However, Mantegu recently entered advanced negotiations to dispose of the asset for R50-million.
The company said the planned sale would remove Blue Ridge’s ongoing losses from the group and strengthen its financial position.
At corporate level, losses amounted to R6-million, mainly due to higher security expenses following threats against executive directors and increased legal costs linked to various disputes and investigations.
- Mantengu reported a loss of over R300 million for the year, with earnings per share dropping by R1.01 due to challenges in its business operations.
- The largest loss (R168 million) came from Sublime Technologies after production was halted in May 2025 because of an expired electricity tariff agreement with Eskom, with negotiations ongoing.
- Chrome operations lost R115 million, impacted by severe flooding, a below-market supply agreement, infrastructure costs, and alleged sabotage causing an additional R30 million loss; a new off-taker has been appointed to improve performance.
- Blue Ridge Platinum, acquired in August 2025 and not yet operational, recorded a R26 million loss; Mantengu is negotiating to sell the asset for R50 million to cut ongoing losses.
- Corporate losses of R6 million were driven by increased security measures for executives and higher legal expenses related to disputes and investigations.
Investment holding company
In the annual financial statement released on
Sublime was marked the largest contributor due to production halt in May after the board decided not to restart operations because the company’s special electricity tariff agreement with Eskom had expired at the end of March, negotiations for extension continue dating back to June 2024. However, maintenance was completed.
“Since shutting down in May 2025, the board has continued to pay full staff salaries and operational costs in anticipation of successfully concluding a deal with Eskom and resuming production.
“
“It is no longer viable to continue to incur the full operational costs whilst not generating any income.
An additional R30-million in losses were incurred during the second half of the financial year, largely due to alleged sabotage at the
Mantegu said several individuals linked to the incidents are no longer employed by the group and that legal proceedings are underway.
Management said it had attempted to notify the market of the sabotage at the time but was unable to release an announcement after the JSE determined that the information was not price sensitive.
In an effort to improve the performance of the chrome business,
Blue Ridge Platinum, which came under the group's control in August 2025, generated a loss of R26-million as the operation has not yet been brought into production and therefore generated no revenue. However, Mantegu recently entered advanced negotiations to dispose of the asset for R50-million.
At corporate level, losses amounted to R6-million, mainly due to higher security expenses following threats against executive directors and increased legal costs linked to various disputes and investigations.
