Sibanye swings to big profit on the crest of strong metal prices
Sibanye-Stillwater, in tandem with its peers, is reaping bumper profits on the wave of the strong gold, palladium and rhodium prices, coupled with the weaker exchange rate.
The group said that it was now in the position to de-risk its balance sheet. “As a result of this strong financial performance, progress on deleveraging the group balance sheet has accelerated, de-risking the business and building a solid base for future delivery of further,” said Sibanye-Stillwater.
Net debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation had reduced meaningfully to 1.2 times at the end of December 31, 2019, from 2.5 times the year before and well ahead of its 1.8 times target for the 2019-year end, said the company.
In addition to the strong price environment, the inclusion of both the Marikana and DRDGold operations during the year under review had beefed up its balance sheet, it said. Sibanye acquired the Marikana operations from Lonmin last year and is the majority owner of DRDGold.
Source: iol.co.za
