JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – JSE- and NYSE-listed Sibanye Gold expected its headline earnings for the year ended December 31, to be between R1.42-billion and R1.50-billion, or 35% to 38% lower than that of 2013, owing to several impairments made during the year.

These included a R120-million investment in metals refining and smelting complex Rand Refinery; a R114-million impairment of the Python plant at its Kloof opeations – which had struggled, since commissioning, to meet the required levels of throughput and was stopped in July; and a R360-million impairment reversal for the Beatrix West section.

However, the gold miner expected its profit attributable to shareholders to be between R1.55-billion and R1.63-billion. These estimates were about 4% to 8% lower than that reported in 2013. 

Like-for-like comparisons between earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the 2013 and 2014 financial years were distorted as a result of an estimated 28% increase in the weighted average number of shares year-on-year.

“Mainly as a consequence of the difference in the weighted average number of shares between the periods, EPS and HEPS for the year ended December 2014 are expected to be approximately 30% and 50% lower respectively, than the reported EPS of 260c a share and HEPS of 355c a share for the year ended December 2013,” the company said in a statement.

EPS were estimated to be between 185c a share and 195c a share and HEPS were estimated to be between 170c a share and 180c a share respectively for 2014.

This difference was primarily owing to the fact that, until its unbundling from Gold Fields in mid-February 2013, Sibanye only had 1 000 shares in issue.

The weighted average number of shares in issue in 2013, stood at 650.6-million, compared with the 735.1-million shares in issue by the end of 2014. 

Sibanye had also issued 156.9-million new ordinary shares to Gold One in May 2014, as payment for the acquisition of the Cooke assets. This resulted in 898.8-million shares in issue at year-end.