DRDGold, which recovers the yellow metal through the retreatment of material from waste dumps, is on a spending spree, with plans to fork out on capital expenditure as it works to reposition the company by 2028.

The mid-tier gold producer, which is more than 50% owned by Sibanye-Stillwater, on Wednesday reported its annual results for the year ended in June, with a 4% uptick in headline earnings per share to R1.54 for the year ended in June.

DRDGold, which extracts the precious metal from mine dumps around Johannesburg, reported a 3% rise in annual earnings. This is a disappointment against the backdrop of record high prices, but the company faced steeply rising costs linked to regulatory delays. And it did pay a dividend for a 17th straight year.

Despite a 5% decrease in gold production, DRDGold reported a 14% rise in operating profit in the year to end-June as the group benefited from skyrocketing gold prices. DRDGold on Wednesday reported 4% growth in headline earnings per share (HEPS) to R1.33bn, while group revenue rose 14% to R6.2bn, driven primarily by a 20% increase in average gold price over the period.

CAPITAL expenditure will take priority over dividend payments for the next three years until DRDGold completes a R10bn programme to add another ton of gold to its annual production by expanding its Far West Gold Recoveries (FWGR) operations and setting up Ergo for another 14 years of economic life.

The interview highlights DRDGOLD’s performance for the year ended 30 June 2024. Niel touched on the plans for 2025 and being in a position for growth between now and 2028.

Business Day TV sat down with DRDGold CEO Niël Pretorius to discuss the mine’s full-year results. Niel touched on the satisfaction of the results but not the journey, and how the Company plans to improve this in the coming years.

JSE-listed gold miner DRDGold expects headline earnings per share (HEPS) to be lower by between 1% and 9% for the full year to June 2024 after operating costs soared by 14%, negating an increase in revenue by a similar margin.

DRDGold is the latest gold producer to miss out on the gold bonanza of the past six months because of falls in production which meant the company has not gotten the full benefit of the soaring gold price.

JSE-, ASX- and NYSE-listed DRDGOLD has reported a 14% year-on-year increase in revenue to about R6.24-billion for the financial year ended June 30, which the company said was mainly owing to a 20% increase in the rand gold price to more than R1.2-million a kilogram.

DRDGold expects to report a 14% increase in revenue to R6.24 billion for the year, primarily due to a 20% increase in the rand gold price, and headline earnings per share are expected to be in a range of a 1% loss to a 9% increase. The increase in revenue was offset by a 14% rise in group cash operating costs, which grew to R4.2 billion from R3.7 billion the previous year.