JOHANNESBURG, Feb 20 – Sibanye Stillwater reported a nearly fourfold increase in annual profit for 2025, driven by a strong rally in gold and platinum group metal (PGM) prices, enabling the diversified miner to resume dividend payments for the first time since 2023.
Headline earnings rose to 2.44 rand per share, up from 0.64 rand a year earlier, reflecting improved commodity price conditions across its gold and PGM operations. The company declared a dividend of 1.31 rand per share, returning approximately 3.7 billion rand to shareholders after suspending payouts during a prolonged period of weaker PGM prices.
The earnings recovery was largely supported by a 39 percent increase in the average rand gold price and a 28 percent rise in the South African PGM basket price. The company’s U.S. operations, which are heavily exposed to palladium production, also benefited from a 21 percent increase in average metal prices.
Gold prices surged significantly in 2025 amid geopolitical uncertainty, expectations of interest rate cuts, and increased central bank purchases, reinforcing its role as a strategic store of value. Meanwhile, platinum and palladium prices strengthened due to supply constraints and rising demand, particularly from China, as production challenges in South Africa tightened global supply.
Despite improved profitability, Sibanye recorded impairments totaling 14 billion rand during the year. This included a 2.46 billion rand writedown on its Keliber lithium project in Finland, reflecting weaker long-term lithium price expectations, and a 3.8 billion rand impairment at its Kloof gold mine due to reduced operational lifespan linked to geological and logistical factors.
However, the company reversed impairments worth 1.9 billion rand across several South African gold assets, including the Burnstone, Beatrix, and Driefontein mines, supported by stronger gold price forecasts.
The sharp earnings rebound highlights Sibanye Stillwater’s sensitivity to global commodity cycles and underscores the renewed strength of precious metals markets, positioning the miner to benefit from continued volatility in global financial and industrial demand.
