SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized.
DRDGOLD LIMITED
Date: August 27, 2019 By:
/s/ Riaan Davel
Name:
Riaan Davel
Title:
Chief Financial Officer
Exhibit
99.1
DRDGOLD LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of
South Africa)
(Registration number:
1895/000926/06)
ISIN: ZAE000058723
JSE share code: DRD
NYSE trading symbol: DRD
(“DRDGOLD” or the “Company”)
TRADING STATEMENT AND OPERATIONAL UPDATE FOR
THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019
In terms of paragraph 3.4(b) of the JSE Limited Listings
Requirements, companies are required to publish a trading statement as soon as
they are satisfied, with a reasonable degree of certainty, that the financial
results for the current reporting period will differ by at least 20% from the
financial results of the previous corresponding period.
DRDGOLD is in the process of finalising its
results for the year ended 30 June 2019 (“Results”) and shareholders are
accordingly advised that the Company has reasonable certainty that it will
report:
·
earnings per share of between 11.65 cents and 11.95 cents per
share compared to earnings of 1.5 cents per share for the previous
corresponding period; and
-
headline earnings per share of between 10.73 cents and 11.07 cents
per share compared to headline earnings of 1.7 cents per share for the
previous corresponding period.
The expected increase in earnings per share and headline earnings
per share for the year ended 30 June 2019 compared to the previous
corresponding period are due mainly to movements in the following items:
1. Revenue
Revenue increased by R271.7 million, or 11% to
R2,762.1 million (2018: R2,490.4 million).
·
Ergo’s R2,577.5 million contribution to revenue was 3% higher than
the previous corresponding period due to the higher average Rand gold price
received moderating the impact of 4% lower gold sold; and
-
Far West Gold Recoveries (“FWGR”) made its maiden
contribution to revenue of R184.6 million, the majority of it from 1 April
2019 when commercial production commenced.
2. Cost of sales
The increase in revenue was moderated by an
increase in cost of sales of R206.2 million, or 9%, to R2,553.9 million (2018:
R2,347.7 million). This included:
·
An increase in operating costs of R255.9 million (R112.7 million
related to the first year of operations at FWGR and, the remainder is due
mostly to inflationary cost increases at Ergo); and
-
A credit of R60.0 million (2018: R2.9 million) resulting from a change
in estimated environmental rehabilitation, related mostly to Ergo.
3. Weighted average number of ordinary shares
Earnings and headline earnings per share increased notwithstanding
the issuance of 265 million consideration shares to Sibanye Gold Limited
trading as Sibanye-Stillwater, on 31 July 2018 in respect of the FWGR
acquisition.
Rounding of figures may result in
computational discrepancies
* All-in cost definitions based on the guidance note on non-GAAP
Metrics issued by the World Gold Council on 27 June 2013
** The adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortisation ("EBITDA") is based on the definitions in DRDGOLD´s
revolving credit facility agreements. Adjusted EBITDA is not an IFRS measure
and is provided for illustrative purposes only and because of its nature, it
may not fairly present the Company´s results of operations
FWGR’s revenue and cost of sales were lower than the forecasted
revenue and cost of sales for the six months ended 30 June 2019 included in the
circular to shareholders, dated 26 February
2018, due primarily to the date of commencement of
commercial production for most Phase 1 assets of 1 April 2019 being three
months later than the forecasted date of 1 January 2019 as a result of the effective date of the transaction being three
months later than anticipated. All-in sustaining
costs per kg were disproportionately impacted by including the unwinding of the
environmental rehabilitation provision for 11 months while including gold
production/sold mostly for the fourth quarter.
Cash and cash equivalents and borrowings
DRDGOLD ended the financial year with cash and cash equivalents of
R279.5 million (2018: R302.1 million) and borrowings of Rnil after R192 million
was raised and repaid on the revolving credit facility during the year.
The information contained in this announcement does not constitute
an earnings forecast. The financial information provided is the responsibility
of the directors of DRDGOLD, and such information has not been reviewed or
reported on by the Company’s auditors.
Johannesburg
27 August 2019
Sponsor
One Capital