Oct 28 (Reuters) - Sibanye Stillwater reported a 5%fall in quarterly core earnings on Thursday due to lower averageprices for gold and platinum, but said prices are stabilisingand the outlook for precious metals is positive.
The South Africa-based miner said group adjusted earningsbefore interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA)fell to 14.90 billion rand ($984.02 million) for the threemonths ended Sept. 30, from 15.59 billion rand a year earlier. South African platinum group metals (PGM) productionincreased by 20% year-on-year and costs declined by 4%, whilethe South African gold mines produced 2% more than the sameperiod last year, reflecting a normalisation of miningactivities after pandemic-related disruptions.
PGM prices fell in the third quarter as the globalsemiconductor shortage hit demand from the car industry, butSibanye said it was confident supply chain constraints shouldstart easing in 2022.
Sibanye said its COVID-19 vaccine rollout was going well,
with about 50,000 of its full-time employees in South Africavaccinated by Oct 21.
($1 = 15.1419 rand)
(Reporting by Shanima A in Bengaluru; Editing by RamakrishnanM. And Barbara Lewis)