Stillwater Mining has seen its net income rise for the third quarter, but strike activity at the company's eponymous mine impacted on production.

Total net income stood at $4.4 million for the third quarter, an improvement on the $1.6 million loss incurred during the same period in 2003, but production fell between the same dates.

During the latest quarter Stillwater produced a total of 121,000 ounces of palladium and platinum, which included 93,000 ounces of palladium and 28,000 ounces of platinum, compared to 146,000 ounces in total the year before.

Stillwater chairman and chief executive officer, Francis R. McAllister said the results "were sharply affected by costs of the strike, refinancing the credit facility and from buying out the lease on a tunnel boring machine".

"Absent these costs, the company would have reported higher net income," he argued. "We estimate the overall effect of the strike at the company's Stillwater Mine and Columbus Metallurgical Complex was in the range of $10 to $11 million, or $0.11 to $0.12 per share, which when combined with the refinancing and equipment-related charges reduced third- quarter earnings by about $18 million, or $0.20 per share."

"Our overall mine production in the quarter was down as expected due to a 25 per cent decrease in ounces produced at the Stillwater Mine related primarily to ten days lost production from the union strike in the third quarter, but also due to a decrease in the average ore grade realized," he concluded.

The dip in production was partially offset by a rise in the combined average realized price for mine pgm production, which increased 18 per cent to $479 per ounce.

Sales of stockpiled mine production also helped alleviate the company income, with Stillwater exploiting pgms kept back due to the smelter re-bricking in the second quarter.