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South African mining group Sibanye-Stillwater Limited says it expects its profit for the first half of 2021 to surge by 168 percent following an increase in its production in the first six months of the year.
The group expects its mid-year profit to be around R24.58 billion ($1.69 billion).
The jump in the group’s production came off the back of a 41-percent increase in the production of precious metals from its South Africa operations.
The group’s mid-year profit is expected to surpass the R9.39-billion ($563.8 million) profit that it posted in the first half of 2020.
Sibanye-Stillwater is one of the few South African gold miners left in the country.
Froneman, who became CEO in 2013, has led the transformation of Sibanye-Stillwater from a 1.5Moz South Africa-based gold producer into a leading precious metals miner.
The mining giant is the world’s largest primary producer of platinum, second-largest primary producer of palladium and third-largest producer of gold.
In its trading statement and operating update for H1 2021, the company said its earnings and headline earnings are both expected to increase by over 138 percent in H1 2021 compared with H1 2020.
According to the update, the group expects earnings for the period to be between R8.35 ($0.57) and R8.52 ($0.59) per share, compared with R3.51 ($0.21) and R3.50 (0.21) per share for H1 2020.
Sibanye-Stillwater’s profits during the period would have been higher, but the increase in the group’s production, coupled with higher precious metal prices and a reduction in finances, were partially offset by a number of developments.
These developments include higher mining and income taxes due to increased profitability, the strengthening of the rand against the dollar, fair value losses on financial instruments and higher royalty taxes from its South African operations.
As of press time, 8:35 AM (UTC), Aug. 6, shares in the leading mining group were trading at R61.25 ($4.21), 3.9-percent lower than its opening price for the week.
At the current price, Sibanye-Stillwater’s market capitalization is R164.02 billion ($11.31 billion).
