Aug 19, 2026 earnings call — Vision 2028 project progress and capital spend
Company guided 160,000–170,000 ounces for FY2027, with cash costs just over ZAR 1 million per kilo and planned capital just over ZAR 3 billion.
Revenue $0.4B (est $0.4B) · EPS $16.41
Key quotes
"we do hope to have available so that we can do the full 1.2 million tonnes in quarter 1 of the 2028 financial year."
"The solar power produced this year is 146 gigawatt of power units that's been produced."
"So if you take that interim dividend into account of ZAR 0.50 per share, we paid out 65% of our free cash flow or we declared 65% of our free cash flow for the financial year 2026."
Analyst Q&A 4
stock performance, dividend and taxes
Q: Analyst commented that DRD trades at a discount to South African gold peers and praised the results. A shareholder also commented on the interim dividend versus last year and tax contribution.
A: Management said the stock does show a correlation with the industry and that they had been lagging but now track the industry more closely. They explained the interim dividend was chosen carefully to be responsible and avoid large drops next year, and they noted the company paid close to ZAR 1 billion in taxes this year from operations.
"I think that's the main thing, and we were lagging for a period of time, and we seem to have overcome that." — Daniël Pretorius
renewable power plan and platinum opportunity
Q (Martin Creamer · Mining Weekly): Analyst asked what the company's ambition is for renewables and whether there is studied opportunity to recover platinum group metals from tailings.
A: Management said they sold a renewables asset but locked in a 30-megawatt supply to the grid in a few years, and they are open to owning more solar farms though the team is cautious. On platinum, they said the natural partner would be Sibanye-Stillwater; DRD might participate technically or be paid fees, but they do not expect to buy large platinum assets.
"So we've got a 30-megawatt facility coming our way through the grid in a few years from now." — Daniël Pretorius
uranium from tailings
Q: Analyst asked if there is an opportunity to recover uranium from tailings.
A: Management said they are biased against adding uranium recovery to the same tailings circuit because the chemistry and processing conflict with gold recovery. They explained the leach chemistries are on opposite pH sides, earlier companies stopped mixing the two, and any uranium circuit would need a very strong justification before committing large capital.
"Whatever you do, don't do tailings at uranium, don't do a dual product stream in terms of tailings focus because you'll favor the one at the cost of the other." — Daniël Pretorius
modernization, AI and new process tech
Q (Martin Creamer · Mining Weekly): Analyst asked whether DRD is keeping up with global modernization, use of AI, and whether new technology could improve operations or jobs.
A: Management said AI is useful as an analytical tool to understand data but should not make decisions for people. They said DRD has used big data for about 15 years, they continue research on new processes, and the upflow reactor (UFR) shows promise to reduce residue grade, but they want pilot results before modeling impact or scaling.
"AI is a very helpful tool to better understand data. AI shouldn't be a decision-making tool." — Daniël Pretorius