JOHANNESBURG - Harmony Gold Mining Company has reported a 9 percent jump in annual revenue for the year to end June thanks to the strong gold price which reached record levels following the global economic fallout due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Group revenue for the year increased to R29.24 billion, mainly due to the 25 percent increase in the gold price to R735 569 a kilogram from R586 653 a kilogram a year earlier.
The average gold price received was 14 percent stronger at $1 461 an ounce from $1 287 an ounce in 2019.
However, the increase in the gold price – both in US dollar and in rand terms – negatively impacted on the valuation of the gold derivative. Harmony which hedges a portion of its gold production to the gold price
said derivatives recorded a net realised negative cash flow of R1.77bn compared to gains of R484 million a year earlier principally due to R1.49bn in negative cash flow on the rand gold derivatives.
Year on year total annual gold production fell by 15 percent to 1.2 million ounces.
The group attributed the lower output mainly due to the impact of electricity constraints during the third quarter, the Covid-19 national lockdown and the phased recovery in South Africa in the fourth quarter.
Harmony said that 29 employees had died due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A total of 4.1 percent of Harmony’s workforce had tested positive for Covid-19, with 94 percent already recovered and 61 active cases were recorded as at 10 September 2020, said the group.
Chief executive Peter Steenkamp said as the group heads into the 2021 financial year, the focus remains on the safety and health of employees.
“ We are uncertain how long the world will be faced with Covid-19 and its impact on people and the economy. It has also compelled each one of us to reconsider what we value. At Harmony, it has driven home the value of all stakeholders and the need for all to be involved in finding solutions,” said Steenkamp.
Steenkamp said that the group’s safety performance had improved as fatalities had fallen to six in the financial year compared to 11 a year earlier.
BUSINESS REPORT