Sibanye Gold warned investors to expect an enormous increase in annual profit on Thursday, saying the addition of platinum mines and higher gold prices had pushed attributable profit R3bn higher.
Sibanye, a gold and platinum miner, told investors its attributable profit for the year to end-December would be R3.7bn compared to R717m a year earlier. Earnings per share and headline earnings per share were forecast to be 402c and 270c respectively, compared to 79c and 74c before.
“The increase in earnings is as a result of higher revenues from the gold division during the year and the inclusion of the Aquarius and Rustenburg platinum operations, which were acquired during 2016,” the company said.
All the gold companies that have reported their results to date, including Harmony Gold, Gold Fields AngloGold Ashanti and Pan African Resources, have reported strong revenue growth and, as in the case of AngloGold, a return to the payment of dividends as they benefited from improved gold prices and cost reductions.
Sibanye has performed the best of the four major gold producers listed on the JSE so far in 2017, with its shares gaining 11%. However, over a 52-week period, the shares are down 35%. The company has a market capitalisation of R26bn.
Sibanye went on a platinum-mine buying spree, snapping up Aquarius Platinum and the Rustenburg mines owned by Anglo American Platinum. It is in the process of buying Stillwater Mining, an American palladium and platinum miner, for $2.2bn.
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