However, the company said a performance improvement was seen in the latter part of the reporting period. Sibanye Stillwater (Sibanye) and Impala Platinum (Implats) were down 17.4% MoM, followed by Sappi Ltd, which declined by 14.6%. Sibanye will report a 100%-plus decline in basic earnings for the six months ended June (1H24) due to depressed metal prices, which have resulted in another heavy impairment charge, this time for its US palladium and platinum mine Stillwater. In its trading statement, the company said that it was examining further restructuring at Stillwater. Volume challenges also weighed on its earnings with basic EPS expected to come in at a loss per share of between ZAc250.8 and ZAc277.2 vs positive earnings of ZAc262 in the previous period. The earnings losses were positively offset by gains on derivative instruments and an 18% improvement in the average gold price.