DRDGold's earnings up on gold rally

Johannesburg - DRDGOLD [JSE:DRD], South Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer, said on Thursday first-quarter headline earnings more than doubled as it reaped the benefits of gold’s record run.

The average gold price was up about 13% to just over $1 700 an ounce during the quarter to the end of September compared to the previous one, boosting the fortunes of the precious metal’s producers.

The mid-tier miner said headline earnings per share for the quarter rose 150% to 20c from the previous quarter to end-June. Output was slightly boosted to 63 562 oz from 63 079 oz in the June quarter.

The company also said it had received four offers for its 74% stake in the troubled Blyvoor mine, which it is trying to sell.

“The board is considering the merits of these offers and we are on track to meet our December 2011 target to announce the disposal of our stake,” it said.

Blyvoor is a deep-level mine and the group is trying to focus on surface operations and extracting residual gold from mine dumps.

DRDGold also said it would increase exploration activities in Mozambique in the next few months.