• EPS decreased by 43% to 651 cents from 1140 cents
  • HEPS dwindled to 652 cents from 1272 cents
  • Revenue went down by 20% to R138 billion from R172 billion
  • Profit for the period decreased to R18 billion from R33 billion

Harare- Diversified mining outfit, Sibanye Stillwater, a parent company to Mimosa Mine in Zimbabwe has reported narrowed earnings for the full-year ended 31 December 2022 amid a confluence of calamities during the reporting period, both at national and international level.

The Group’s earnings per share, headline earnings per share, revenue and profit after tax decreased by higher margins against the same comparable period in 2021 courtesy of an industrial action that stalled gold production for three months, Nevada flooding crisis that stopped PGMs operations for seven weeks, a fast-depreciating Rand against major currencies and recurrent power-cuts which regularly affected production and increased costs of production.

Due to industrial action and lockout, South African gold production slumped by 42% to 13746 kgs and this, was exacerbated by recurrent power cuts from embattled state utility, ESKOM.  US PGM was 24% down while 2E PGM production in Nevada was 5% lower than the production guidance reflecting the full impact of the flood event. South Africa’s PGMs volumes were 12% down.

“The industrial action and flooding events resulted in significantly reduced production from the SA gold and US PGM operations during 2022, with a concomitant increase in unit costs,” Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Neal Froneman said in a statement accompanying the full-year financials.

“The phased resumption and build-up of safe production after these operational stoppages also negatively impacted production and costs during the second half of the year,” Froneman added.

As a result, Group revenue declined by 20% to R138.3 billion compared to R172.2 billion in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA of R41.1 billion was 40% lower than the record adjusted EBITDA of R68.6 billion for 2021.

After tax profit declined to R18.98 billion from 33.79 in 2021.

Earnings Per Share (EPS) an industrial standard relied upon by investors to measure the efficacy of a company, declined significantly to 651 cents from 1140 cents in the prior year while Headline Earnings Per Share (HEPS) dwindled to 652 cents from 1272 cents in full-year 2021. 

However, despite the challenges faced, the Group generated a positive adjusted free cash flow of R9.5 billion maintaining a strong financial position at year end. Cash and cash equivalents of R26.1 billion exceeded borrowings of R20.2 billion resulting in a R5.9 billion net cash position.

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