Pan African Resources’ full-year earnings surge

Pan African Resources has lifted its full-year earnings by just more than two-thirds and halved its net debt, after the gold miner benefited from higher average gold prices.

Pan African Resource, which is listed on the JSE and the London Stock Exchange, said on Wednesday that headline earnings rose 69% to $74.7m in the year to end-June, as the average gold price rose 16% to $1,826/oz. Net debt fell 49% to $39m.

As the store of value, the demand for the precious metal tends to rise in times of uncertainty or when investors are less confident about the direction of the global economy.

The price of spot gold peaked at $2,063.54/oz in July 2020 when the world economy was in the clutches of the Covid-19 but has since pulled back to current levels around $1,800/oz.

Gold production was up 12.4% to 201,777oz, while all-in sustaining costs rose 9% to $1,261/oz, as a result of above-inflation electricity tariffs and a stronger rand.

Pan African Resource maintained its production guidance of minimum of 195,000oz for the 2022 financial year.

“We are once again pleased to report major positive strides in Pan African’s operational and financial performance, despite the challenges of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic,” CEO Cobus Loots said in a statement

“The operational flexibility afforded by our multiple producing assets has enabled the group to improve margins, achieve record profits and realise our second-highest annual gold production.”

Shareholders have been rewarded with a final dividend of R402.2m, which is up 28.5% year on year.

mahlangua@businesslive.co.za