Shares of JSE-listed iron ore mining firm, Kumba Iron Ore, soared 3.7 percent on the JSE’s Friday’s intraday trading.

The stock price was bolstered by the fact that the company said it was likely to produce an increase in profits for the year ended December 2013.

The firm said the increase in profits was due to a surge in iron ore prices and the weaker South African currency against the US dollar.

The US dollar is hard currency for export oriented South Africa firms, which basically means they get paid in dollars for their goods.

Kumba said headline earnings and basic earnings for the year to December last year would possibly surge from R12.1 billion in the previous reporting period to R15.7 billion in the year to December last year.

Headline earnings and basic earnings are the measure of profitability in South African companies.

The results could have been much better, but they were “partially offset” by a slightly weaker production at its Sishen mine during the period under review.