By Christian Moess Laursen

Shares in Sibanye-Stillwater rose after the South African miner's third-quarter earnings increased thanks to its gold and zinc operations.

Shares were up 5.2% at 21.38 South African rand, paring the year-to-date loss to 14%.

The precious-metals miner on Tuesday booked adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $184 million in the quarter, a 9% increase on the year-ago period.

"The operating results reflect the benefits of the actions we have taken to optimize our operations and improve group profitability," Chief Executive Neal Froneman said.

The result was driven by a 24% increase in gold prices as its South African gold operations achieved $75 million in adjusted Ebitda compared with $19 million last year. Meanwhile, Sibanye's zinc operations in Australia contributed $31 million, up from $3 million, as production and higher metal prices acted as tailwinds.

Last month, after the third quarter ended, Sibanye said it had suspended its Australian zinc operation due to a regional bushfire. Work is expected to resume on Nov. 16.

The strong gold and zinc operational performance offset the continued struggles at Sibanye's platinum-metals sites. Persistent low prices continued to squeeze margins, hurting group earnings, the miner, one of the top producers globally, said.

The company outlined two years ago a large-scale reorganization in a response to the challenging market terms. It said in September that it had entered the last phase of the restructuring, which includes laying off more than 2,000 workers this year.

Write to Christian Moess Laursen at christian.moess@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 05, 2024 04:00 ET (09:00 GMT)

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