Guided by robust gold production that came in largely in line with guidance and mixed with stronger recovery grades, South African gold producer Harmony Gold said yesterday it was anticipating revenues and earnings per share to be significantly higher for the year ending June 2023.
Earnings per share in the company are expected to lift from a loss per share of 172 cents in 2022 to between 763 and 798 cents for the period under review. Headline earnings per share are expected to also be firmer by between 50% and 70% at between 747 cents and 850 cents.
Peter Steenkamp, the CEO for Harmony, said in a trading update yesterday that the period under review saw Harmony meet “the upper end of our production guidance” of 1.4 to 1.5 million ounces.
This had been achieved at an “all-in-sustaining cost of below” R900 000 per kilogram. Harmony Gold will report its full year financials on Wednesday next week.
Investors in the company responded positively to this, lifting Harmony’s share price by 7.38% to R70.7 in afternoon trade on the JSE yesterday.
Moreover, underground recovery grades during the period exceeded projected guidance of 5.45 grams to 5.6 grams per ton.
“We will continue allocating growth capital to our high-grade underground and high-margin surface source operations in South Africa and expanding our international copper-gold portfolio,” said Steenkamp.
The higher basic and headline earnings per share for the period have been attributed to an “increase in revenue due to higher underground recovered grades and a higher average gold price” received.
The absence of impairment costs on assets during the period under review due to “headroom shown on all assets” also contrasts sharply to the $273 million (R5139) recorded in impairment for the previous year.
BUSINESS REPORT