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JOHANNESBURG Nov 7 (Reuters) – Harmony Gold, South
Africa’s third largest bullion producer, reported a dramatic
turnaround in first-quarter earnings on Wednesday as it cashed
in on rand gold prices hovering at quarterly highs.
Headline earnings were 123 cents per share for the three
months from July to September from a headline loss of 15 cents
a share in the previous quarter, which beat the average estimate
of 107.7 cents in a Reuters poll of six analysts.
Headline earnings per share, the main measure of profit in
South Africa, excludes certain one-time items.
The average gold price in the September quarter rose 3
percent to $1,652 per ounce. And weakness in the South African
currency meant in rand terms the average price during the
July-September quarter was up 4 percent to 438,000 rand per
kilogram.
Production was 8 percent up at 321,924 ounces but output is
likely to fall in the December quarter after it lost about
25,000 ounces of production due to an illegal strike at its
Kusasalethu operations near Carletonville in October.
Despite getting more than 90 percent of its output from
South Africa, Harmony managed to escape relatively unscathed
from violent wildcat strikes that have crippled operations at
South African gold and platinum producers in recent months.
The strikes over wages and discontent with the industry’s
largest trade union have led to the violent deaths of more than
50 people, 34 at the hands of police.
(Reporting by Sherilee Lakmidas; Editing by Ed Stodddard)
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