South African miner disappoints investors with conservative guidance

  • Harmony Gold Mining shares drop due to lower-than-expected dividend and cautious guidance
  • Shares down 7.8% despite higher net profit and revenue in previous fiscal year
  • Production forecast for current fiscal year between 1.4 million and 1.5 million ounces of gold
  • All-in sustaining costs expected to be between $1,020 and $1,100 per kilogram of gold
  • CEO Peter Steenkamp attributes performance in FY2024 to overachievement at some operations
  • Final dividend declared at 94 South African cents a share, lower than analysts’ forecast

Shares in Harmony Gold Mining fell after the company declared a lower-than-expected dividend and provided a cautious outlook for the current fiscal year. Despite reporting higher net profit and revenue due to surging gold prices and increased ore grades, investors were disappointed by the conservative guidance. The shares dropped 7.8% to 152.86 South African rand in late morning trading. Harmony Gold expects to produce between 1.4 million and 1.5 million ounces of gold this fiscal year, a slight decline from the previous year’s 1.56 million ounces. All-in sustaining costs are expected to be between $1,020 and $1,100 per kilogram of gold. CEO Peter Steenkamp attributed the performance in the previous fiscal year to overachievement at some operations due to higher-than-expected ore grades recovered. The final dividend was set at 94 South African cents a share, lower than the forecasted 176 cents by analysts. Despite higher gold prices, investors were not satisfied with the company’s guidance.

Factuality Level: 8
Factuality Justification: The article provides accurate and objective information about Harmony Gold Mining’s financial performance, including their lower-than-expected dividend payout, conservative guidance for the current fiscal year, and higher net profit and revenue in the previous fiscal year. The article also includes relevant details such as CEO Peter Steenkamp’s commentary on planning assumptions and analyst opinions. However, it lacks personal perspectives or sensationalism.
Noise Level: 3
Noise Justification: The article provides relevant information about Harmony Gold Mining’s financial performance and outlook, but it could benefit from more in-depth analysis of the factors affecting the company’s performance and industry trends.
Public Companies: Harmony Gold Mining (HMY)
Key People: Peter Steenkamp (Chief Executive), Rene Hochreiter (Analyst at Noah Capital Markets)

Track all markets on TradingView

Financial Relevance: Yes
Financial Markets Impacted: Harmony Gold Mining shares
Financial Rating Justification: The article discusses the financial performance of Harmony Gold Mining, including its lower-than-expected dividend payout and conservative guidance for the current fiscal year, which impacted the company’s share price. It also mentions the impact on financial markets due to changes in gold prices.
Presence Of Extreme Event: No
Nature Of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating Of The Extreme Event: No
Extreme Rating Justification: There is no extreme event mentioned in the article.
Move Size: 7.8%
Sector: Mining
Direction: Down
Magnitude: Large
Affected Instruments: Stocks

Reported publicly: www.marketwatch.com