Gold mining firm DRDGold said yesterday in an operational update for the quarter that it was in a favourable position and in the absence of unforeseen events, it was considering declaring an interim cash dividend in February, despite the capital expenditure planned for the year.
DRDGold reported a 1% quarter-on-quarter increase in gold production to 1 453kg, due primarily to a 1% increase in tonnage throughput, for the quarter ended September 30.
It said the gold it had sold decreased by 4kg to 1 442kg and as a result, cash operating costs per kilogram increased 2% from the previous quarter to R658 530 a kg.
Cash operating costs per ton of material processed remained stable at R133 per ton.
All-in sustaining costs per kilogram were R755 201, decreasing 14% quarter-on-quarter, mainly due to a 68% decrease in sustaining capital expenditure. All-in costs per kilogram were R796 255, decreasing 9% quarter-on-quarter.
Adjusted Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) decreased by 19% from the previous quarter to R386.4 million primarily due to an insurance claim of R84.7m recognised in the previous quarter.
Cash and cash equivalents decreased by R280.5m to R2.2 billion after paying the final cash dividend of R342.5m for the year ended June 30, 2022.
DRDGold said the cash generated during the current quarter would be applied towards the company’s extended capital expenditure programme for the year ending June 30, 2023.
In August DRDGold reported it had generated R5.26bn in revenue during the year ended June 2021, up 26% from the R4.1bn recorded a year earlier on strong metal prices.
In intraday trade yesterday the share was down 1.65% at R9.55, falling 26.61% in the year to date.
BUSINESS REPORT