Sept 2 Reuters Sibanye Stillwater on Monday said it will report a halfyear loss hurt by a 7.5 billion rand 420 million writedown on its U.S. assets reflecting sliding palladium prices.

The South African miner expects to report a loss per share

of between 2.508 rand and 2.772 rand for the six months to June 30 after posting a profit of 2.62 rand per share for the period last year.

Sibanye said its earnings were impacted by the impairment of its two U.S. mines, which predominantly produce palladium. The U.S operations produced 238,139 ounces of palladium and platinum in the first half of 2024.

The writedown was primarily due to lower medium to longterm forecast consensus palladium price assumptions that resulted in a decrease in expected future net cash flows, Sibanye said in a trading statement.

There had been a 5 to 8 reduction in medium to longterm market consensus palladium price forecasts assumed for valuation purposes, Sibanye said.

The longterm prospects of PGMs have dimmed as the auto sector switches its focus to electric vehicles.

The price of palladium, which along with other platinum group metals PGMs is used in vehicle exhaust systems to curb emissions, fell 40 in 2023 and is down 10 this year.

Sibanye said in the half year it saw a 30 decline in the average dollar price for its U.S. metal and a 28 decline in the rand basket price for its southern African PGMs, significantly reducing revenue.

In 2023, Sibanye reported a 2 billion loss after taking 2.6…