Johannesburg - Harmony Gold will pay its first dividend in three years after returning to a full-year profit, boosted by a higher bullion price and a weaker South African rand.
Headline earnings were R2.21 ($0.15) a share for the year to June 30, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. That compares with a loss of R1.89 a share the previous year. The miner will pay a dividend of 50 cents a share.
Profit margins at Harmony, which runs mostly aging gold mines in South Africa, have been boosted by a gold price that rose 26 percent in the first half of the year and a local currency, in which it pays costs, that weakened 17 percent against the dollar in the 12 months ended June 30. The company has protected itself from reversals in these trends by locking in 20 percent of its production at set prices and hedging currencies.
Harmony’s costs increased 3 percent to R467 526 a kilogram in the year to June 30, compared with a South African inflation rate of 6.3 percent in June. In dollars, costs fell 19 percent to $1 003 an ounce.
Gold rose 0.6 percent to $1 347.92 an ounce at 5.51pm in London.
BLOOMBERG