Valterra rewards Durban-born executive Sayurie Naidoo with $1.1 million package in 2025

Durban-born executive Sayurie Naidoo received total remuneration of 18.14 million rand ($1.1 million) as chief financial officer of Valterra Platinum Ltd. in 2025, according to the company’s annual financial statements. Her pay rose 62 percent from 11.18 million rand ($681,000) in 2024, reflecting higher incentives after the miner’s separation from Anglo American Plc.

Pay rises after demerger

Naidoo’s single-figure remuneration included a 7 million rand ($427,000) basic salary, up from 5.34 million rand ($325,200) a year earlier, as well as 1.07 million rand in retirement and medical contributions. Her short-term annual bonus reached 9 million rand ($549,000), divided equally between cash and deferred bonus shares.

The 4.5 million rand ($274,000) cash portion of the bonus represented 64% of Naidoo’s base salary. Another 4.5 million rand was awarded in deferred shares under Valterra Platinum’s Bonus Share Plan, tying part of her annual incentive to continued ownership of the company following its emergence as an independent listed miner.

Incentives add to package

Long-term incentive plan vestings added 743,883 rand ($45,330) to Naidoo’s 2025 remuneration, based on a 2023 award whose performance period ended Dec. 31, 2025. The vesting value was calculated using a 90-day volume-weighted average share price of 1,074.88 rand. Benefits, including leave encashment and dividend equivalents, totaled 327,746 rand.

Naidoo also received 17,068 shares under Valterra Platinum’s 2025 long-term incentive allocation. The award had a market face value of 10.92 million rand at a grant price of 639.79 rand per share, equivalent to 160 percent of her base salary. The award forms part of the longer-term compensation structure tied to the company’s performance.

By the end of December 2025, Naidoo held 46,769 unvested awards across Valterra Platinum’s long-term incentive, bonus share and transformation schemes, with an aggregate fair value of 34.01 million rand ($2.07 million). Her direct ownership also increased to 3,310 ordinary shares, from 2,904 shares at the end of 2024.

Valterra’s first standalone year

The compensation increase came as Valterra Platinum delivered a sharp earnings recovery in its first full year as an independent company. Net profit more than doubled to 15.81 billion rand ($962.8 million) from 7.39 billion rand ($450 million), while adjusted EBITDA climbed 68 percent to 33.37 billion rand ($2.03 billion) from 19.81 billion rand.

Net revenue increased 6.7 percent to 116.33 billion rand ($7.08 billion), compared with 108.99 billion rand ($6.63 billion) a year earlier. The improvement was supported by stronger realized platinum group metals prices, lower operating costs and insurance recoveries after major operational disruptions, helping lift profitability during the year.

The company said the PGM dollar basket price rose 89 percent toward year-end, while demand remained steady across Asia and Europe. Precious metals generated 100.3 billion rand ($6.1 billion) in revenue, led by platinum at 36.53 billion rand, rhodium at 22.95 billion rand and palladium at 21.73 billion rand.

Base metal revenue, by contrast, fell to 8.86 billion rand ($539.5 million) from 10.89 billion rand ($663.1 million), with nickel sales declining to 6.44 billion rand ($392.2 million). The results underscored the differing contributions from Valterra Platinum’s metals portfolio as the company entered its first year operating outside Anglo American.

Finance chief led separation

Valterra Platinum, formerly Anglo American Platinum Ltd., was demerged from Anglo American on May 31, 2025, and subsequently became independently listed in Johannesburg and London. The company is the world’s largest primary producer of platinum and accounts for about 38 percent of global annual platinum supply, according to company information.

Naidoo became CFO and an executive director after serving as acting CFO of Anglo American’s platinum group metals business from October 2023. In 2025, she led the financial separation of Valterra Platinum from Anglo American, overseeing the finance function through the company’s transition into an independent listed business.

A chartered accountant in South Africa, Naidoo holds a Bachelor of Business Science specializing in finance. She spent more than 15 years within the Anglo American group, including seven years in its platinum business, and previously held senior finance positions at Kumba Iron Ore, including financial controller and senior manager for performance reporting.