JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – JSE- and NYSE-listed Sibanye Gold has amended the terms of an existing loan agreement with unnamed lenders, which will allow the company to consider declaring an interim dividend and a larger final dividend in respect of the financial year ending December 31, 2013.

The previous bridge loan facilities agreement, concluded in November last year, prevented Sibanye Gold from paying an interim dividend in this financial year and limited a final dividend to 25% of normalised earnings, provided the company’s gross debt was not more than R4-billion after the dividend was paid.

In terms of the amendment, Sibanye may declare an interim dividend of up to 25% of normalised earnings, but only once wage negotiations with organised labour had been concluded and provided that its net debt did not exceed R4-billion after such dividend payment.

In addition, a final dividend of up to 35% of normalised earnings may be declared for the full financial year, provided that Sibanye’s gross debt did not exceed R3.5-billion after the dividend payment.     

Alternatively, a limited final dividend of 25% of normalised earnings may be declared, provided that gross debt did not exceed R4-billion after the dividend payment. 

“We are pleased that our lenders have agreed to relax the constraint on paying an interim dividend and have amended the terms of the bridging facilities. The revised  terms recognise the cash generative ability of our assets, even at lower prevailing gold prices and will provide greater balance sheet flexibility and the ability to pay dividends to shareholders earlier,” CEO Neal Froneman said in a statement.

Under the amendment, the structure of the facility had been changed to a R3-billion revolving credit facility and a R3-billion term loan facility, as opposed to the original R2-billion revolving credit facility and R4-billion term loan facility.

Sibanye Gold was currently engaging with its lenders to extend the term of its debt.