Higher taxes take shine off DRDGold’s strong operating performance
DRDGold, a gold tailings retreatment specialist, reported an improved annual operating performance and cash flows as it continued its legal battle with the Ekurhuleni municipality over tens of millions of rand in fees charged for electricity. DRDGold reported operating profit for the year to end-June rose 38% to R355m from the previous year, with revenue up 6% to R2.49bn. Post-tax profit, however, fell to R6.5m from R13.7m on higher tax payments. Pretax profit was R32.4m from a loss of R37m the year before. Gold output for the year was 10% higher at 150,423oz at an all-in sustaining cost of R505,622/kg against a received price of R534,344/kg. The higher gold production came from a 13% improvement in the yield put through the Ergo plant near Brakpan to the east of Johannesburg. Looking ahead, DRDGold expects Ergo to deliver 148,000oz to 154,000oz of gold for its 2019 financial year. DRDGold had free cash flow of R93m compared with outflows of R45m the previous year. The biggest devel...
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