summary of broker views

Macquarie 31-Oct-11 Mimosa shined in the quarter by lowering costs while maintaining full production, the broker notes, but ongoing operational difficulties in SA and subsequent overall rising costs mean the broker's first half forecasts for Aquarius could be under threat.

AQP is otherwise a low cost producer with a strong balance sheet, so the broker believes it can ride through current volatility. Outperform

UBS 31-Oct-11 Aquarius Platinum's quarter implied that South African mining difficulties will continue in FY12, the broker notes. Stoppages were one reason AQP fell well short on revenue and earnings expectations.
Throw in rising costs and adjustments for commodity price and A$ assumptions and the broker has reduced its valuation by 13%. Target nevertheless remains unchanged.
Neutral

Deutsche Bank 31-Oct-11 Target $4.90 (was $5.72). September quarter production was poor but the broker suggests some operational improvements are in sight, with some clarity on existing issues expected in 1H12.
Post the production report Deutsche has lowered earnings forecasts and price target to reflect lower output and higher costs, the result being a cut in price target. Buy rating is retained.
Buy

BA-Merrill Lynch 15-Aug-11 Full year headline earnings were slightly better than BA-ML had expected, this due largely to higher production in the period.
The company offers low cost volume growth in 2012 and this supports the broker's Buy rating.
Buy

Citi 27-Jul-11 According to Citi, the company released a poor quarterly performance on the back of lower-than-expected production at Kroondal and Marikana. Also, contributing in a negative fashion were delays and long lead times for drilling rigs. Plus there's the impact from a strong Rand. The analysts add operational costs are rising faster than expected.

Bottom line: earnings forecasts have been cut significantly and the analysts see no reason whatsoever to be positive on this stock, citing weak PGM prices, a strong Rand, poor demand for cars and rising costs. $5.50 target retained in combination with a Hold rating.