Sibanye Stillwater Posts Record Profit, CEO Warns US Mine May Close If Costs Don't Fall

Maham Fatima Wed, September 9, 2026 at 7:35 PM PDT 4 min read

On September 1, Sibanye Stillwater (NYSE: SBSW) reported figures that would have seemed unthinkable a year earlier. Revenue jumped 64% to R90 billion ($5.5 billion), and headline earnings per share rocketed 216% to R6.01 from R1.90 in the first half of 2025. A year ago, the company posted a R3.9 billion loss. This time it posted an R18.8 billion profit. Higher prices for platinum group metals and gold did the heavy lifting, but how management used the windfall—on debt and dividends rather than empire building—is what makes the quarter worth a second look.

Debt Falls While Cash Piles Up

Gross debt dropped 18% to R32.1 billion in six months, pulling net debt down to just 0.18 times adjusted EBITDA. CFO Charl Keyter said Sibanye Stillwater remains on track to cut gross debt in half over two to three years, having already banked most of that reduction early. Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to R31.8 billion, and cash conversion from operations hit 65%, which is why the board could declare a R2.01 per share interim dividend—the top of its 25% to 35% payout policy—for a total of R5.7 billion. Liquidity stood at R47.6 billion, split between R22.4 billion in cash and R25.2 billion in undrawn credit facilities, giving the company room to fund growth without leaning on new borrowing.

The board also approved two new growth projects:

• Burnstone: A shallow gold project built on existing shaft infrastructure, received $98 million for 2026 and is targeted to produce 130,000 ounces a year over a 25-year life starting in 2029.
• Mt Lyell: A Tasmanian copper project, got $7.5 million for setup work and carries a net present value above $1 billion at current spot prices.

Meanwhile, the recycling business—built through the Metallix acquisition—sold 2.8 million precious metal ounces, up 142%, and generated $164 million in adjusted EBITDA at a 13% margin. Renewable capacity of 165 megawatts is on track to reach 835 megawatts by 2028, a shift management expects to save more than R1 billion a year in energy costs.

Where the Deep Mines Push Back

The underlying operations told a tougher story than the headline numbers suggest.

• South African PGM production slipped 2% to 789,647 4E ounces on weaker surface output, while all-in sustaining cost rose 10% to R26,252 per ounce, largely because of a R1.1 billion jump in royalties.
• Gold production fell 2% as underground output at Kloof dropped 9%, and gold's all-in sustaining cost climbed 14% to R1,638,089 per kilogram on higher royalties, shaft maintenance, and pumping costs at Driefontein, where electricity charges rose 13%.
• In the US, PGM production edged down 2% on lower grades at East Boulder and labor shortages, even as the operation posted a $1,347 per ounce all-in sustaining cost that included a $181 credit from Section 45X tax incentives.

The bigger uncertainty sits with people, not ore grades. Executive Vice President Charles Carter told investors the US workforce has resisted the incentive changes tied to the mechanization plan at Stillwater, noting that "they don't like change," with new union labor agreements still being negotiated as of the call. CEO Richard Stewart went further, warning that if mechanization fails to push Stillwater's costs down toward $1,000 an ounce, management may eventually have to end the operation. Stewart also called crime tied to mining work an epidemic in South Africa, after the company lost three employees to criminal incidents during the half. Century Zinc production fell 13% to 45,000 tonnes as that asset nears the end of its life and worked through a wet, rainy season.

What the Numbers Say About Sentiment

Hedge fund ownership rose from 27 funds to 29 in the most recent quarter, a modest sign of accumulating interest. Short interest sits at just 1.69% of float, which points to little organized skepticism around the stock. Shares trade at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 3.44 as of September 9, a multiple that assumes very little of the current earnings power will last. That combination suggests that the market isn't yet convinced the record first half will endure.