DRDGold lifts headline earnings 89% and triples final dividend as Vision 2028 plants come online

DRDGold reported an 89% increase in headline earnings to R4.25bn for the year to 30 June 2026 on 19 August, as a 40% rise in the rand gold price combined with stronger-than-expected production. The Johannesburg tailings retreatment group declared a final dividend of 120c a share, three times last year's final payout, taking the full-year dividend to 170c. It is the 19th consecutive year DRDGold has paid a dividend.

Gold production was 4,839kg (155,577oz), beating the upper end of the company's 140,000oz to 150,000oz guidance. Revenue rose 42% to R11.16bn and operating profit climbed 83% to R6.45bn. Cash operating costs rose 7% to R967,523/kg and all-in sustaining costs increased 8% to R1,078,068/kg, lifting the AISC margin to 53.0% from 38.8%.

Two very different operations

Ergo, which reprocesses old dumps around Johannesburg through its plant in Brakpan, produced 3,511kg at a cash cost of R1,122,778/kg. Far West Gold Recoveries (FWGR), near Carletonville, produced 1,328kg at a much lower R560,789/kg. Miningmx reported that Ergo's trucking costs rose because it had to haul material from alternative sites while waiting for water use licences for some reclamation areas.

Vision 2028 moves from spending to producing

DRDGold spent R3.53bn on capital in the year, up 57%, as it builds out Vision 2028, the programme meant to take annual production to about 200,000oz. Several milestones fell in July, just after year end: the first tailings were deposited on the Daggafontein storage facility at Ergo on 6 July, and the new elution circuit and smelt house at FWGR's expanded DP2 plant were commissioned on 14 July. Construction of FWGR's regional tailings storage facility near Fochville was about 67% complete at year end and the pipeline network about 95% complete. The Withok facility has been delayed to the end of 2029.

In December 2025 Sibanye-Stillwater transferred the Kloof 2 dump to DRDGold, adding 67 million tonnes to reserves and extending FWGR's life by four years, the Carletonville Herald reported. In July the company also received the long-awaited water use licence for the Libanon reclamation pump station, which paves the way for more production at FWGR.

Chief executive Niël Pretorius said the infrastructure built over the past few years was starting to come online and that the next phase of the company was beginning to take shape.

Balance sheet and outlook

Free cash flow rose 85% to R2.27bn. After paying R779.3m in dividends and funding capital spending, DRDGold ended June with R2.77bn in cash, no bank debt and undrawn facilities. For FY2027 it has guided to 160,000oz to 170,000oz at a cash operating cost of about R1,099,000/kg, with capital spending of about R3bn.

Pretorius also used the results to signal ambitions beyond Gauteng. He told Daily Maverick the company is looking for partnerships with miners elsewhere in Africa and in South America that have large tailings endowments, offering to repurpose their plants for higher-volume retreatment while rehabilitating the land.

Sources

• Stock Titan (SEC Form 6-K): DRDGOLD FY2026 profit up 83%, dividend up 200%, 19 Aug 2026
• Daily Maverick: DRDGold pays dividends for 19th consecutive year, eyes expansion outside SA, 19 Aug 2026
• Carletonville Herald: DRDGOLD reports strong results as major Carletonville and Fochville projects progress, 26 Aug 2026
• Miningmx: DRDGold earnings set to nearly double as projects deliver, 13 Aug 2026

Photo: Historic gold mine dumps on the outskirts of Johannesburg, photographed in 1962. Guus Gorter, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.