Dividends put on hold as Harmony tackles debt
Miner reaps the benefits of new assets in its portfolio, with operational free cash flow more than doubling
Harmony Gold shareholders have to wait for a dividend as the company prioritises repaying debt incurred in building and buying two big mines that underpin the business. To arrest falling gold production as old mines came to the end of their lives, Harmony bought the Moab Khotsong mine in Orkney, tailings and the nearby defunct Great Noligwa mine from AngloGold Ashanti for $300m. It also spent $176m restarting the Hidden Valley mine in Papua New Guinea. Harmony reaped the benefits of the new assets in its portfolio, with operational free cash flow more than doubling in the six months to end-December to R1.1bn. The extra cash allowed Harmony to shave R300m off its net position, which stood at R4.6bn at the end of December. At a results presentation in Johannesburg, Adrian Hammond of Standard Bank asked when Harmony would pay dividends, given its strong cash flow. “When looking at capital allocation, our priority is to reduce our debt. That will give us flexibility. We went through eno...
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