Harmony Gold expects full-year headline earnings per share (HEPS) to lift by at least 73% to between R40.50 and R44.50, driven by higher gold prices that have outpaced cost and tax payment increases.
In the prior year, HEPS for Harmony Gold amounted to R23.37. In US dollar terms, HEPS for the period are expected to increase by between 90% and 105% to between $2.45 and $2.65.
The gold and copper producer stated that its earnings for the period had been impacted by the acquisition and integration of MAC Copper and the CSA mine into the group, as costs for the operation were accounted for.
Notable changes related to this include the inclusion of production costs, amortisation and depreciation, fair value movements on streaming arrangements relating to copper and silver streams, and finance costs arising from a bridge loan and streaming arrangements.
Additionally, acquisition costs for copper of R1.4 billion were incurred, while an increase in production costs for gold was mainly due to inflation-related increases in consumables and electricity costs, higher contractor costs, and increased labour costs.
Other impacts stemmed from an increase in derivative losses recognised on the realised silver contracts, due to the silver spot price rising further above the locked-in rates for contracts, and a R1.5bn increase in the royalty expense due to increased revenue for the South African entities.
The company’s higher profitability from elevated gold prices for the full year also resulted in taxation payments soaring by R2.3bn.
Harmony’s full-year gold production for the period amounted to 44.4 tonnes, compared to about 46 tonnes in 2025, supported by robust contributions from its South African underground operations as well as from Hidden Valley in Papua New Guinea.
“Our high-quality gold portfolio, growing copper exposure, robust balance sheet, disciplined capital allocation framework, and pipeline of organic opportunities position us to generate sustainable cash flows, deliver attractive shareholder returns, and create value through the commodity cycle. We remain focused on safe, profitable production, disciplined growth, and enduring value creation for all our stakeholders,” said Beyers Nel, Harmony Gold’s CEO.
Underground recovery grades at 5.83 grams per tonne were lower compared to the 6.27 grams per tonne recorded for last year but were in line with its own guidance. All-in sustaining costs amounted to nearly R1.2 million per kilogram, up from about R1 million per the same unit of output last year.
Bullion prices have been elevated over the past few months; however, the South African cost base has also been rising. During the year under review, average gold prices received by Harmony for the period were firmer by 35.3% at R2 million per kilogram.
Following its acquisition by Harmony Gold, the CSA copper mine in Australia contributed 18,207 tonnes of copper production at a recovered grade of 3.75%. It sold about 16,719 tonnes of this copper production at an average copper price of $5.62/lb.
Nonetheless, Harmony Gold recorded impairment reversals of R2.8bn in respect of property, plant, and equipment relating to the Tshepong North, Tshepong South, Kusasalethu, and Doornkop cash-generating units as a result of significantly higher gold price assumptions applied in the valuation.
The company stated it had also advanced the Eva Copper Project while continuing to invest in reserve conversion and life extension across its portfolio.
Shares in Harmony Gold surged by 7.32% to R375.91 on the JSE on Friday, extending the stock’s 19.52% and 44.79% rally in the past seven and 30 days, respectively. It expects to release its full financials for the year to June 30 later this month.
THE NATIONAL