Harmony Gold expects headline earnings per share for the year to June 2026 to come in between 4,050c and 4,450c, up 73%-90% on the prior year, with earnings per share rising 90%-108%, or 109%-124% in dollar terms. The group hit gold production guidance for an 11th consecutive financial year and met every key operating target for grade, cost and copper output, a run of consistency that has become central to how the market prices the stock.
Group gold production of 1,429,551oz came in on guidance, supported by South African underground operations and the Hidden Valley mine in Papua New Guinea. All-in sustaining costs held at $2,195/oz despite inflation on consumables, electricity and contractor pay, plus higher labour costs under the group’s five-year wage agreement. The CSA copper mine in Australia, acquired through last year’s $1bn purchase of MAC Copper, added 18,207 tonnes of copper production, near the top of guidance in its first full year under Harmony’s ownership.
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The earnings jump was driven largely by price. The average gold price Harmony received rose 35.3% to $3,811/oz, a figure that sits inside one of the most volatile years gold has had in decades: the metal hit a record near $5,600/oz in January 2026, lost more than a fifth of its value in its worst quarter since 2013, then rebounded toward $4,500 by mid-August on renewed central bank buying and rate-cut expectations. Copper added a smaller but still material contribution, with 16,719 tonnes sold from CSA at an average price of $5.62 a pound.
| Metric | FY2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| HEPS | 4,050c-4,450c | +73% to +90% |
| Gold production | 1,429,551oz | in line with guidance |
| AISC | $2,195/oz | within guidance |
| CSA copper production | 18,207t | upper end of guidance |
| Average gold price received | $3,811/oz | +35.3% |
The MAC Copper deal, which closed on 24 October 2025, gave Harmony full ownership of CSA, long regarded as a high-grade orebody with further exploration upside. It marks the clearest step yet in a strategy the company describes as gold-first but increasingly copper-supported, aimed at reducing its dependence on a metal whose price swings, as this year showed, can move by 20% or more within a single quarter.
That strategy took another concrete step on 28 July 2026, when Harmony closed a multicurrency loan package worth roughly R20bn, split across $500m, A$500m and R7bn tranches. The facility was oversubscribed almost three times over, with 93% lender participation, and will refinance the MAC Copper acquisition bridge loan alongside syndicated debt dating to 2022. Part of the growth this funding supports is the Eva Copper project in Queensland, sanctioned at between $1.55bn and $1.75bn, targeting first production in late 2028 and around 65,000 tonnes of copper concentrate a year in its first five years.
Several one-off items shaped the reported numbers. Harmony reversed R2.8bn of prior impairments on the Tshepong North, Tshepong South, Kusasalethu and Doornkop operations after higher gold price assumptions lifted their valuations. Against that, the group booked R1.4bn in MAC Copper acquisition costs, a roughly R1.5bn increase in royalty expense tied to higher South African revenue, and about R2.3bn more tax on higher profitability.
Chief executive Beyers Nel said the group’s gold portfolio, growing copper exposure, balance sheet and pipeline of organic projects position it to generate sustainable cash flow and shareholder returns through the commodity cycle.
Harmony remains South Africa’s largest gold producer by volume and will publish full financial results on 27 August. The trading statement leaves one question open: whether copper, still years from meaningful production at Eva, can smooth Harmony’s earnings before gold’s next downturn arrives.