Media releases

Solid operating performance and attractive gold price lift operating profit by 74%

Details

Published: Tuesday, 18 February 2025 08:00

Johannesburg, South Africa. 18 February 2025. DRDGOLD Limited (JSE: DRD, A2X, NYSE: DRD) today reported solid operating performance for the six months ended 31 December 2024 (HY1 FY2025) to take advantage of a 26% increase in gold price to R1 478 663/kg, lifting revenue by 28% to R 3 802.3 million and boosting operating profit by 74% to R1 578.7 million. Cash operating costs remained well-contained at R2 215.1 million.

Headline earnings were 112.6 SA cents per share, and cash and cash equivalents increased by 27% to R661.2 million (HY1 FY2024: R521.5 million). R947.6 million was invested in capital expenditure, 12% lower than the R1 074.7 million invested HY1 FY2024. This was due mainly to the successful completion of key projects and reduced commissioning activities on reclamation sites. The Company reported that it was able to cover these capital reinvestments without recourse to bank debt.

An interim dividend of 30 SA cents for H1 FY2025 was declared, up 50% from the interim dividend of HY1 FY2024 of 20 SA cents per share. DRDGOLD has now paid dividends each year for 18th consecutive years.

An important achievement for the period was the full commissioning and integration of the solar plant and battery energy storage system (BESS) into the national grid, which the Company expects will contribute to ongoing direct cost reductions and protection against rising energy costs and any supply interruptions.

The Company reported significant progress in the construction of the regional tailings storage facility (RTSF) at FWGR, with more than 2 million m³ of ground moved in respect of work on the starter wall, the levelling of the basin and return water dams. The upgrade of the Driefontein 2 plant (DP2) to increase its throughput capacity to 1.2Mt per month was also progressing well. The civil work on DP2 will continue to be a key focus area in HY2 FY2025. Production guidance for the year ended 30 June 2025 (FY2025) remained unchanged at between 155 000 ounces and 165 000 ounces of gold and cash operating costs of approximately R870 000/kg.

The Company stated that it continued to explore further renewable energy initiatives in line with its commitment to sustainability as well as invest in capital infrastructure developments that underscore the throughput and output targets of Vision 2028.

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Jane Kamau
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