Sibanye-Stillwater reported headline earnings per share of 601c for the six months to end-June, up 216% on a year earlier, as high precious metal prices lifted revenue 64% to R90bn. Adjusted ebitda more than doubled to R31.8bn, and the board approved two projects: Burnstone, a gold mine in Gauteng, and Mount Lyell, a copper and gold operation in Tasmania.
Cash generated by operations reached almost R21bn, allowing the group to cut gross debt 18% to R32.1bn and declare an interim dividend of R2.01 a share, a payout of R5.7bn. Chief executive Richard Stewart said the group remained on course to halve gross debt within two to three years while funding new projects from internally generated cash.
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The scale of the swing is clearer against the comparative period, when Sibanye posted a loss of 127c a share. The recovery came from price rather than volume. The rand gold price received rose 35% while gold production fell 2%, and the dollar PGM basket at the US operations gained 70% on production 2% lower.
| Measure | H1 2026 | H1 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headline earnings per share | 601c | 190c | +216% |
| Revenue | R90bn | — | +64% |
| Adjusted ebitda | R31.8bn | — | more than doubled |
| Gross debt | R32.1bn | — | –18% |
| Interim dividend | R2.01 a share (R5.7bn) | — | — |
| Capital expenditure | R8.2bn | R9.4bn | –13% |
| PGM all-in sustaining cost | R26,252/4Eoz | — | +10% |
| Century zinc output | 45,000t | 51,000t | –13% |
Those prices have since retreated. Gold peaked at $5,597 an ounce on 29 January and traded near $4,600 in late August. Platinum reached $2,878 in the same week before easing to between $1,650 and $1,880 by mid-year. The interim period captured the strongest stretch of the cycle, and the second half will be measured against softer realisations.
Peer results place the numbers in context. Northam Platinum guided to headline earnings up as much as 709% for its year to June, and Valterra Platinum reported a rise of about 1,600%. Sibanye’s 216% is calculated off a loss-making base, making it a recovery rather than an outperformance.
The capital commitments are not discretionary. Sibanye has said group output would fall to roughly 1.5-million equivalent ounces over the next decade without new investment, from 1.73-million 4E ounces in the 2025 financial year. Burnstone requires about R6.2bn and should deliver four tonnes of gold a year, with 2.7-million ounces in reserve and potential access to a further 8.9-million. Mining starts next year and processing is scheduled for the first quarter of 2029.
Mount Lyell needs about $340m, roughly R5.5bn, and will reuse existing underground workings, ventilation and pumping infrastructure to contain costs. It is expected to run for 23 years at about 26,000 tonnes of copper a year. The timing follows copper’s move to a record $14,527 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange in January, with the International Copper Study Group forecasting the market’s first structural deficit since 2009.
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Diversification matters because Sibanye remains the most price-geared of the local PGM producers. RMB Morgan Stanley has estimated downside of 53% for the share at a PGM basket of R30,000 an ounce, against 22% for Impala Platinum and 40% for Valterra. The World Platinum Investment Council expects a fourth consecutive year of platinum deficit in 2026, which supports the supply case even as spot prices fall.
Elsewhere, the US recycling business, built through two acquisitions integrated over the past 18 months, contributed $164m, about R2.6bn, in adjusted ebitda. Payable zinc production at Century in Australia fell 13% to 45,000 tonnes as the mine nears the end of its life and wet weather disrupted operations. At Keliber in Finland, mining has begun and the concentrator is ramping up, with a decision on the refinery due later this year.
Sibanye left most of its 2026 guidance unchanged but raised its forecast for gold production costs. First-half capital spending fell to R8.2bn from R9.4bn, largely because the main Keliber outlay is complete, headroom that Burnstone and Mount Lyell will now absorb.