RICHARD Stewart couldn’t have taken over as CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater at a better time. Gold and platinum prices are at record highs which has seen the group’s market value nearly double in six months.
With the wind at his back, this is the perfect time to set out his stall on strategy. A presentation planned for Thursday (January 29) is the company’s first since 2021. So what might Stewart say?
The crowd-pleasing resumption of the dividend is highly likely. Sibanye-Stillwater turned the corner on net debt in the first half of last year after peaking at R20bn in 2024. With capex R1bn lower in 2025, it’s time to reward loyal shareholders and lure faithless investors alike. When Sibanye-Stillwater last paid a dividend (in 2023), it was up to 35% of normalised earnings. The board may even opt for a new policy. Rivals such as AngloGold Asanti have switched to a payout of free cash flow.
Second, Stewart will be keen to highlight inexpensive organic resource renewal. Sibanye-Stillwater under former CEO Neal Froneman was an aggressive dealmaker. Under new management, Sibanye-Stillwater will highlight its platinum operations especially, such as the recently announced Bambanani-Siphumelele mechanisation project.
Low risk partnerships to share the burden in projects may also be a feature, such as at Burnstone, the R5bn gold project, currently in mothballs. At a rand gold price of R2.6m/kg the project will be irresistible. Sibanye-Stillwater also has a JV in place on its Free State uranium Beisa project, currently awaiting a change of control approval, to which Stewart may choose to give some airtime.
Under Froneman, Sibanye-Stillwater could be a noisy company. That was as much to do with the group’s global ambitions as much as Froneman’s personal effervescent style. One of Sibanye-Stillwater’s first announcements after Stewart took the reins was a $215m out-of-court settlement with Appian Capital over the disputed purchase of projects.
This could be a prelude to a quieter company, less vocal about M&A. But it needs a growth story, especially in gold where reserves are diminishing. Stewart may express an interest in acquiring African-based miners with near-cash projects. That’s a long-shot, admittedly. But one hopes Sibanye-Stillwater keeps some of its entrepreneurial esprit.
It’s also worth remarking that Sibanye-Stillwater still has a global footprint. While New Century, an Australian tailings retreatment operation is distant and saps management time for relatively little return, it comes with Mt Lyell, a copper option. Reldan, a platinum recycler also offers a footprint in Asia from which Sibanye-Stillwater could grow outwards.
Finally, Stewart will need to add more meat on the bones of its announcement this month it intended to phase in Keliber, its Finland lithium project. The devil is in the detail as well as financing plans for working capital while the project operates below targeted volumes. And what of the underperforming lithium price?
Froneman was fond sharing his views on global affairs: grey elephants, as he termed it, ranging from continued viral epidemics, to global warming to geopolitical distress. Can Sibanye-Stillwater become a pillar of financial strength and predictability in a world of crackpot politicking?
