Major South African miner hits gold

Harmony Gold has declared a record interim dividend on the back of a soaring gold price, which saw its revenue from sales of the precious metal shoot up 19%. 

The miner revealed this in its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2024, released on 4 March 2025. 

Harmony continues to generate strong cash flows, with the gold price continuing to rally amid increased global uncertainty and central bank buying. 

The company’s free cash flow skyrocketed by 46% to R10.4 billion compared to the same six-month period last year. 

This translated into a 33% increase in headline earnings per share to 1,270 cents, enabling the company to pay an interim dividend of 227 cents per share. 

The interim dividend payout will be a record for Harmony, with it paying out the equivalent of R1.4 billion to shareholders. 

Harmony’s strong performance was driven by its gold mining business, which grew revenue by 19% to R35.5 billion. 

This was despite the company’s total gold production declining by 4% to 14,846 kg. It still remains South Africa’s largest gold producer. 

The company said its production declined in line with its medium-term plan to derisk the business and focus on high-quality mineral deposits. 

This positions the company to continue benefitting from an elevated gold price as its production quality surpasses its rivals, enabling it to be more efficient.

Since 2019, the price of the precious metal has risen 85% as demand has spiked. According to the World Gold Council, demand for gold hit a record high of $100 billion in the third quarter of 2024.

The dollar price of gold soared by 27.2% in 2024, and over a three-year period, gold is up 43.5% 

Gold remains the core of Harmony’s business, but with the rise in demand for clean electricity generation, the miner has been developing its copper assets. 

“While we have historically been a gold producer, we are on the cusp of introducing near-term copper, which will further de-risk and diversify our production profile,” the company said. 

It has used its strong cash flows over the past few years from a rising gold price to invest in its copper assets, which the company said should result in higher margins. 

Harmony’s strong performance is set to continue, as it said the gold price will continue to appreciate in 2025. 

Increased global uncertainty has pushed investors into the precious metal as a safe haven while central bank demand has been sustained. 

Central banks around the world, particularly in developing countries have pumped money into gold to reduce their reliance on the US dollar as a reserve asset.