JSE-LISTED Sibanye-Stillwater closed 2.78percent weaker to R19.91 a share after saying yesterday that it was expecting to sink in the red for the six months to June on the bruising strike at its South African gold operations which ended in April.
The company told shareholders it would swing to a R265million loss in the first half of 2019, compared with an attributable profit of R77m for the six months ended June 30, 2018.
The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) led the five-month strike that ended on April 17, 2019. Sibanye-Stillwater said yesterday that the strike had affected the entire six-month production period to June.
Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold operations of Driefontein, Kloof and Beatrix mines ground to a halt on November 21 when at least 15000 Amcu members downed tools to demand higher wages despite the company signing agreements with three other unions.
Amcu is currently demanding a R17500-a-month salary at the company’s platinum operations.
Sibanye-Stillwater said that earnings a share would plummet and it was likely that a 467percent decrease in earnings a share would be reported.
The group said that it would record a headline loss a share of 54cents in 2019 from headline earnings a share of 4c for 2018, and a loss per share of 11c in the period under review compared with earnings per share of 3c for the first half of 2018.
It said a R502m increase in mining tax due to increased profitability of the platinum group metals operations, the R387m restructuring costs from the South African gold operations and other strike costs of R374m had also hurt the company.
In June Sibanye said that about 3450 employees would be affected by the restructuring at the gold operations.
It said voluntary separation, early retirement and natural attrition accounted for the bulk of the affected jobs, with forced retrenchments limited to approximately 800 employees and 550 contract workers.