TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Stillwater Mining on Tuesday said fourth quarter profit rose 50% year-on-year to $24.7-million, as higher prices more than offset a drop in platinum and palladium prices.

That translated into net earnings of $0.21 a share, well exceeding analyst expectations of $0.12 a share.

For the full year, net income came in at $144.3 million, compared with the figure of $50.4-million for 2010, on the back of $906-million in revenues.

“The 2011 earnings benefitted from strong selling prices for palladium and platinum, the company's primary products, and from improved mining productivity and growth in recycling volumes during the year,” Montana-based Stillwater said.

The company said it anticipated platinum and palladium prices would continue to converge.

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