Ivanplats Slide on Africa Belies Value Seen by Analysts: IVP

Ivanplats Ltd. (IVP), the mine developer founded by billionaire Robert Friedland, is the worst performer among its global peers this year. Analysts say its stock should be almost three times higher.

Ivanplats has dropped 69 percent this year in Toronto, the most among 115 companies in a Bloomberg mining index, which has fallen 30 percent.

The Vancouver-based company’s capital-expenditure needs, the geopolitical risk inherent in its African projects and the general doldrums in the global mining industry have spurred the decline, said John Goldsmith, deputy head of equities with Montrusco Bolton Investments in Toronto.

“The big issue with them right now is they do have a substantial amount of capex requirements,” Goldsmith, whose company manages C$5.5 billion ($5.3 billion), said in a July 10 phone interview.

The riskiness of operating in Africa also is being factored into the way the shares are valued, he said.  (more)

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