By: Reuters

Harmony Gold posted an 87% rise in annual profit on Thursday, as higher gold prices helped offset the impact of lower output and grades, allowing the miner to pay a record dividend. 

Harmony, South Africa's biggest gold producer, which also has an interest in copper, said its headline earnings per share came in at 43.63 rand ($2.73) in the year ended June 30, up from 23.37 rand in the prior year.

It said it will pay an annual dividend of 7.50 rand per share, nearly five times last year's payout.

The company benefited from a 35% increase in the average gold price, helping soften the impact of lower gold output, which fell 3% to 1.43 million ounces, compared to the previous financial year.

The gold price XAU= rose sharply during the year, supported by sustained central bank purchases and increased investor demand for safe-haven assets amid heightened geopolitical tensions, policy uncertainty and concerns over global economic growth

Copper output from Harmony's newly acquired CSA mine in Australia was 18,207 metric tons, toward the upper end of its guidance.

Harmony acquired the CSA mine in October 2025, expanding its copper portfolio, which also includes the Eva copper project in Australia and the Wafi-Golpu project in Papua New Guinea, jointly owned with Newmont.

Harmony diversified into copper - a metal critical to electric vehicles and power grid infrastructure - to take advantage of growing demand for the metal amid a global shift to cleaner energy.

(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Nelson Banya; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Rashmi Aich)