DRDGOLD has reported a 10% rise in half-year headline earnings, despite a slight decrease in output. Business Day TV spoke to the miner’s CEO, Niël Pretorius, for more detail on the performance.

In the six months to December 31, 2023, DRDGOLD faced hurdles such as delays in commissioning high-volume sites, leading to a 7% decline in gold production. However, the company's commitment to sustainability and efficiency remained unwavering. They successfully advanced their sustainability efforts with a new solar plant and battery storage system.

CEO Niël Pretorius, during the company’s interim financial presentation on February 14, stated that the lower throughput resulted from delays in commissioning two high-volume sites owing to community issues and regulatory approval delays. Consequently, the company had to compensate tonnages from several legacy and clean-up sites.

There’s quite a bit of margin in a $2 000 gold price, and there does seem to be quite an accumulation of gold taking place outside the US market. So when the US market loses interest in gold because there’s the perception that there are going to be higher interest rates for longer, somebody else out there is picking up the gold that they sell.

The 2023 calendar year therefore became "a scramble to source material from legacy and clean-up sites", it said. Earnings rose 10% to 68.4c per share, and it kept its dividend payout steady at 20c a share. DRDGOLD fell almost 5% on Wednesday, amid general pressure on gold miners, and has now lost almost 4% in the past year.

“Because our operations are by and large in the city, the amount of dust that comes with various reclamation and deposition sites is important. We measure those very, very closely. DRDGOLD is now putting very little dust into its surrounding communities."

DRDGold reported a 12% revenue increase in the first half of 2023, reaching R2,974.2m, driven by a 22% rise in the Rand gold price and a cash operating cost of R2,097.1m.

DRDGOLD forecast full year gold production for the 12 months ended June to come in at the lower end of its 165,000 to 175,000 ounce guidance, and unit costs would increase.

From coins to shares, the solid increase in the gold price and weaker exchange rate has created the best returns for gold bulls. DRDGold (the old Durban Roodepoort Deep) increased by 28% in 2023.

DRDGOLD Limited has provided a voluntary trading statement and trading update for the six months ending December 31, 2023. Despite facing operational challenges, the company expects an increase in earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) compared to the previous corresponding period.