DRDGOLD became debt free in its 2016 financial year in which a higher gold price offset lower production and higher costs. DRDGold, which retreats old tailings dumps around Johannesburg, declared a final dividend of 12c, taking its total for the year to end-June to 62c a share — more than six times the previous year’s 10c. "While higher throughput was not sufficient to offset lower yield, and our gold production was lower as a consequence, a stronger rand gold price boosted revenue and, in the face of rising costs, our profit," the company said. DRDGold reported profit of R62m for the year against a R67.8m profit a year ago. Revenue climbed to R2.4bn from R2.1bn before and operating profit rose 13% to R434m, reflecting the gold price rising by a fifth to an average R546,142/kg. DRDGold shares have gained 434% in the past 52 weeks and 230% in the year to date, trading at R8.70 each, giving the company a market capitalisation of R3.72bn.
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