South Africa's Assore sees H1 earnings down by almost half

South African iron ore and manganese producer Assore said on Wednesday it expected half-year profit to fall by almost half due to softer commodity prices. Headline earnings per share - which strips out certain one-off items - are seen falling to between 5.31 and 6.51 rand for the six months through December from 9.59 rand a year earlier. Prices for iron ore dropped 38 percent during the period, Assore said in a statement.