Sibanye Gold (NYSE:SBSW) used its 2025 earnings call to frame the year as a period of significant change, highlighting a leadership transition, a strategy “refresh” centered on simplification, and a series of major operational and financial decisions made in the second half of the year. Management emphasized improved operational delivery across most businesses, a stronger financial position, and a return to dividends, while also detailing key challenges at certain South African gold operations and outlining a staged approach to ramping up its Keliber lithium project in Finland.
Strategy refresh emphasizes “simplification” and disciplined capital allocation
Management said the strategic refresh presented to the market in late January can be summarized in one word: simplification. The near-term focus is on maximizing operating margins through operational excellence and a simplified operating model, alongside a portfolio emphasis on “highest return” and cash-generative assets.
- Shareholder returns
- Reducing gross debt
- Growth
On growth, executives said the best near-term value is expected to come from organic opportunities, particularly from the company’s significant resource base in South Africa’s PGM operations. The company said it has also developed a framework to evaluate external growth opportunities going forward.
Safety performance improved, but six fatalities reported in 2025
Management said safety indicators have improved materially since the company launched its fatal elimination strategy in 2021, citing a more than 40% reduction in serious injuries and a similar decline in high potential incidents. However, the company reported six fatal incidents across operations during 2025 and said eliminating fatalities remains its “number one priority.”
The fatal elimination strategy is based on three pillars: critical controls, critical management routines, and life-saving behaviors. The focus in 2026 is on enhancing compliance through cultural transformation, with management emphasizing a move from compliance by instruction toward a culture of accountability and care.
Operational performance: South African PGMs stable; gold output impacted by Cooke and Kloof changes
In South Africa, the company’s PGM operations produced 1.8 million ounces for 2025, including attributable production from Mimosa of 117,000 ounces and 73,000 ounces from third-party purchase of concentrate. Management said results aligned with guidance of 1.75 million to 1.85 million ounces and were stable year over year.
Underground production increased 2% to over 1.6 million ounces, supported by improvements at Rustenburg’s mechanized Bathopele shaft and more stable performance versus prior-year disruptions at Siphumelele and Kroondal. At Marikana, safety-related stoppages at Saffy affected output, while K4 ramp-up lifted production 41% to nearly 100,000 ounces.
Surface production fell 29% to 108,000 ounces due to heavy first-quarter rainfall and transitions between tailings feed sources. The company said it is evaluating long-term surface opportunities at Rustenburg. Purchase of concentrate volumes declined 24% in line with contractual terms.
South African PGM operating costs rose 7.3% and all-in sustaining cost (AISC) increased 10% to just over ZAR 24,000 per 4E ounce, within guidance. Byproduct credits were cited as a key offset, with stronger ruthenium and iridium contributions. The company also noted royalties rose 261% to ZAR 765 million due to higher prices, while sustaining capital increased 12% to ZAR 2.9 billion. Total capex of ZAR 5.9 billion was below the ZAR 6.5 billion estimate. Adjusted EBITDA for the South African PGM business increased 125% to ZAR 16.7 billion, helped by a 28% increase in the average basket price to over ZAR 31,000 per ounce.
For South African gold, total production including DRDGOLD fell 10% to 19.7 tons. Underground production declined 8%, primarily due to Cooke operational challenges including seismicity and infrastructure constraints, while surface output decreased 16% due to lower yields from transitioning tailings grades and lower-grade third-party sources. A 39% increase in the gold price received partially mitigated lower volumes, while AISC rose 15% to ZAR 1.4 million per kilogram.
At Cooke, management described persistent issues including a May 2025 shaft incident at Amanzime 7 shaft, aging infrastructure, logistics constraints, and seismic risk in high-grade isolated blocks of ground. Cooke production fell 31% year over year to 3,374 kilograms, prompting a plan rebasing and a life-of-mine adjustment to one year. The company said certain deeper Kloof areas were removed from the long-term plan due to safety risk tolerance, and Kloof would continue operating on a year-by-year basis depending on profitability and sustained higher gold prices.
International operations: US PGM improvements, recycling integration, and Century Zinc results
The U.S. PGM operations reported production of 284,002 ounces and AISC of $1,203 per ounce, beating guidance, alongside improving safety performance into year-end. Management said a significant downsizing in late 2024 helped stem cash losses and supported improved productivity and efficiency, with profitability returning later in the year as prices improved. The company discussed a transformation program in Montana that includes mechanized equipment, increased heading size and advance, workforce upskilling, and a shift to task mining, with benefits expected to meaningfully emerge in 2027.
In recycling, the company said it integrated the Reldan acquisition and later added Metallix, combining them with the Columbus Autocat business to form a broader precious metals recycling platform. Management said the platform is low capital intensity and aims to provide more stable margins through cycles, and that it can pursue organic growth without necessarily relying on additional acquisitions.
In Australia, the Century Zinc retreatment business produced 101 kilotons of payable metal and reduced AISC by 17% to $1,920 per ton, which management said exceeded guidance. The company discussed ongoing feasibility work, including phase I (expected to be completed end of March with assurance by end of May) and the Mount Lyell project (with a close-out review expected in early May), with final decisions to be made within the company’s capital allocation framework.
Financial results: EBITDA highest in three years; dividend restored; notable one-offs and impairments
Management reported the highest EBITDA in three years, with adjusted EBITDA of just under ZAR 38 billion (about $2 billion), and headline earnings per share up sharply. The finance team said headline earnings per share increased 281% to ZAR 2.44 per share, while adjusted EBITDA rose 189% from ZAR 13 billion to just under ZAR 38 billion.
The company declared a dividend of ZAR 1.31 per share, described as about a 2% yield and at the top end of its dividend policy range. It also reported improved leverage, with net debt to adjusted EBITDA at 0.59x at year-end 2025, down from 1.77x at year-end 2024. Gross debt was ZAR 39 billion and cash was ZAR 17 billion, resulting in net debt of ZAR 22 billion. Liquidity headroom was cited at ZAR 40 billion.
Executives highlighted several significant 2025 items affecting reported results, including a ZAR 3.8 billion loss on financial instruments (including protective gold hedges and a Burnstone debt revaluation), impairments of ZAR 15.8 billion (including at U.S. PGMs, Keliber, and Kloof), and transaction costs related to the $215 million Appian settlement (ZAR 3.6 billion). Management said the gold hedges concluded at the end of December 2025 and there are no further gold hedges currently in place.
Looking ahead, management provided 2026 guidance themes including slightly lower South African PGM production consistent with life-of-mine profiles, slightly lower South African gold output driven by reduced Cooke production, and a slight increase in U.S. PGM underground output alongside continued efforts to reduce unit costs toward $1,000 per ounce. The company also said Century Zinc is likely to have its last full year of production in 2026.
The company previewed upcoming investor engagement, including a two-day capital markets day in late April focused on international operations (including a visit to Keliber in Finland) and another two-day capital markets day in South Africa in late June focused on gold and PGM operations.
About Sibanye Gold (NYSE:SBSW)
Sibanye Gold (NYSE:SBSW) is a precious metals mining company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. The company’s core operations focus on the extraction, processing and exploration of gold. Through its South African gold mining operations, Sibanye Gold produces doré bars, gold in concentrate and carbon-in-leach product, leveraging both underground and surface mining techniques. The company also generates by-products such as uranium, copper and nickel, reflecting its commitment to maximizing resource recovery.
In addition to its South African footprint, Sibanye Gold has expanded into the platinum‐group metals (PGM) sector through its acquisition of Stillwater Mining Company in 2017.
