Valt Technology Services (LON:VALT) used its 2025 final results presentation to outline a year it described as “exceptional” operationally and financially, while also acknowledging two work-related fatalities and a challenging external environment. Management emphasized that the company’s first year as an independent business included major corporate milestones, improved safety metrics, higher earnings, stronger cash generation, and continued progress on growth projects such as the Mogalakwena “Sunslot” underground development and Mototolo’s Der Brochen project.
Safety update and corporate milestones
CEO Craig Miller opened by noting two fatalities during 2025: Felix Kore at Unki Mine on April 20 and William Nkenke at Amandelbult Dishaba Mine on July 22. He said the lessons learned are being implemented across the organization. At the same time, he highlighted operational milestones including 14 years without a fatality at Mototolo, 13 years at Mogalakwena, and nine years at Amandelbult Dishaba, alongside an 11% improvement in the total recordable injury frequency rate to the lowest level in the company’s history.
Operational performance: stable second half, record milling at Mogalakwena
Management said operational performance improved materially in the second half of 2025 after weather-related impacts in the first half. Mogalakwena delivered a record number of tonnes milled, helping offset a weather-driven decline at Amandelbult, and total tonnes milled increased 1% year-over-year. The company said refined production, supplemented by inventory optimization, exceeded guidance of 3.4 million ounces, while sales volumes included refined inventory destocking and totaled close to 3.5 million ounces.
At Amandelbult, Miller credited teams for responding to flooding by evacuating employees safely, accelerating dewatering ahead of plan, and ramping back to steady-state volumes faster than expected. Amandelbult exceeded revised guidance in the second half and delivered total production of 484,000 ounces. Management said 2026 guidance indicates an approximately 25% recovery at the operation.
At Mogalakwena, management described pit optimization efforts that reduced the strip ratio 22% to 4.5 times. The company said it mined 15% more volumes despite an 8% reduction in total tons mined, while using flexibility in ore selection to process lower-grade stockpiles in line with its “value over volume” strategy. Operational initiatives cited included improved drilling efficiencies, fewer re-drills, and year-over-year improvements in load and haul efficiency.
Project development: Sunslot and Der Brochen
Miller highlighted the Sunslot underground project as a potential “strategic catalyst,” describing characteristics that he said support bulk underground mechanized mining and could leverage existing concentrator and tailings infrastructure. The company plans to commence trial mining in 2026 to inform a comprehensive feasibility study. Management said the pre-feasibility study reinforced previously communicated expectations for a 10%-50% uplift in Mogalakwena PGM volumes and a 10%-20% reduction in costs.
Progress updates for Sunslot included:
- 30 kilometers of exploration drilling completed during the year, supporting an upgrade of 13 million ounces to Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources
- 3.2 kilometers of underground development completed
- Ventilation shaft one pass completed
- Bulk ore stockpile of approximately 80,000 tonnes at year-end, with trial processing underway
- ZAR 1.4 billion invested in project CapEx during 2025
At Mototolo, the company said development of the Der Brochen project progressed through a weathered zone, with all development ends intersecting the reef and total development more than doubling. Mototolo also achieved a 9% increase in immediately available ore reserves and a 12% productivity uplift, while production remained consistent with the prior year despite dilution from development tons.
Financial results: higher revenue, sharply higher EBITDA, net cash and dividends
CFO Sayurie Naidoo reported revenue increased 7% year-over-year to ZAR 116 billion, driven by a higher PGM basket price, partly offset by lower sales volumes. The company said disciplined cost management delivered ZAR 5 billion of operational and corporate savings in 2025 and helped support a 68% increase in EBITDA.
Naidoo said sustaining free cash flow was ZAR 20 billion, leaving the company with net cash of ZAR 11.5 billion at year-end, compared with net debt of ZAR 4.5 billion at the end of June. Management attributed the improved balance sheet to strong free cash flow generation in the second half.
On dividends, the board declared all net cash as a final dividend, equating to ZAR 43 per share. Naidoo said this comprised a base dividend of ZAR 23 per share (ZAR 6.2 billion) and a special dividend of ZAR 20 per share (ZAR 5.3 billion), bringing total dividends for 2025 to about ZAR 12 billion, or ZAR 45 per share. Management emphasized the base dividend policy remains 40% of headline earnings, with excess cash returned through specials after funding sustaining and discretionary capital.
The company reported full-year CapEx of ZAR 17 billion at the low end of guidance, including sustaining CapEx of ZAR 12.5 billion and discretionary capital of ZAR 4.5 billion directed to Sunslot and Der Brochen development, as well as initiating repurposing of the Mortimer smelter. For 2026, total capital expenditure is expected to be broadly in line at ZAR 17 billion to ZAR 18 billion, which management said is lower than previous guidance of ZAR 19 billion.
Naidoo said all-in sustaining cost was $987 per 3E ounce, below guidance and flat year-over-year, though the company is revising its AISC methodology to include life extension capital; on that basis, 2025 AISC would have been $1,039 per 3E ounce. Guidance for 2026 AISC is around $1,050 per 3E ounce, assuming an exchange rate of 17 rand to the U.S. dollar.
Markets, balance sheet priorities, and Q&A highlights
Management described 2025 as a strong year for PGM pricing, saying the full basket price ended the year 86% higher than at the start of 2025. Miller cited factors including tariff concerns, a weaker U.S. dollar early in the year, Chinese buying influenced by a gold price differential, U.S. imports in June and July, investor purchasing in the second half, and specific demand drivers in ruthenium and rhodium. The company’s outlook anticipated continued tightness in platinum markets and said mine supply is expected to decline over the medium to long term, with elevated prices encouraging recycling but facing headwinds.
In Q&A, executives reiterated Mogalakwena’s “value over volume” approach, including blending low-grade stockpiles (management referenced a roughly 5 million ton low-grade ore stockpile). The company also discussed the Baobab plant lease expiring at the end of 2025, saying it was not the cheapest concentrator in the portfolio and that improved performance at Mogalakwena’s North and South concentrators supports planned output without extending Baobab.
Other Q&A items included:
- Debt posture: Management said it guides to net debt-to-EBITDA of less than 1x through the cycle, and described a “cash neutral” balance sheet as prudent.
- Insurance proceeds: The company received ZAR 2.5 billion so far related to the Amandelbult flooding claim and expects a final payment in the first half of 2026, with the total quantum still under discussion.
- Cost savings sustainability: Naidoo attributed savings to procurement, labor and contractor reductions, corporate cost reductions, and operational excellence initiatives, and cited additional expected benefits from standalone simplification and initiatives such as renewables via the Envusa project.
- Zimbabwe cash retention at Unki: Management said about $100 million of export proceeds retained in local currency had been inaccessible, with engagement ongoing with authorities and expectations of receiving funds over the coming months.
- Customer prepayment: The company said customer prepayment stood at about ZAR 12.8 billion, is linked to price and FX, and is currently set to end in 2027, with management expecting potential extension.
- Tolling contract: The company extended a tolling contract with Sibanye for five years, with both parties able to end after three years; management said it was on “materially better terms.”
Closing remarks emphasized maintaining cost and capital discipline, sustaining asset reliability, and continuing to return excess cash to shareholders, with Miller saying the company had “demonstrated in its first year of independence” that it delivers on its priorities.
About Valt Technology Services (LON:VALT)
