COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Harmony Gold to further deepen Mponeng mine

Harmony Gold, the owner of SA's ultra-deep Mponeng mine, has reported exceptional results, with record annual profits and cash flows driven by record metal prices. The miner, which operates in SA, Papua New Guinea, and Australia, reported a more than 130% increase in headline earnings to R11.5 billion, up from R4.9 billion the previous year, while operating cash flow increased by 111% to a record R12.7 billion. A strong operational performance across its operations, which include some of the oldest and deepest gold mines in South Africa, allowed Harmony to take full advantage of record rand gold prices, up 16% for the year. The group reported a 6% increase in total gold production to over 1.56 million ounces, while underground recovered grades also increased by 6% to 6.11 grams per tonne, thanks to particularly high-grade patches currently being mined at Mponeng in Carletonville, Gauteng, the world's deepest gold mine, where it is investing to extend the life of mine to 20 years.

-FIN24-

Telkom disposes assets, raises R617 million

SA's third-biggest mobile operator, Telkom, has disposed of 17 non-core properties for a cash injection worth R617 million. According to the property marketing and auction company In2assets, the properties included commercial buildings, administration blocks, development sites and land in the Cape Town CBD, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Welkom. After going live on 29 August, the bid attracted 127 registered bidders, hailing as the largest property auction by turnover, according to In2assets. In 2023, the company sold 65 Telkom properties, including transmission stations and service hubs, totalling R584 million in turnover.

-FIN24-

Starlink faces resistance in Brazil

Elon Musk's satellite broadband firm, Starlink, on Tuesday said that it is complying with Brazil's top court order to block access to social media platform X in the country, a day after informing the country's regulator it would not obey the order. Starlink had emerged as a fresh battleground between Musk and Brazil, as top court judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered the freeze of the company's accounts for possible use to pay fines owed by X, which is also owned by Musk. "Regardless of the illegal treatment of Starlink in freezing of our assets, we are complying with the order to block access to X in Brazil," Starlink, which has more than 200 000 customers in the Latin American nation, said in a post on X. On Monday, Brazil's telecom regulator Anatel said it had been informed by Starlink that the Musk-backed company would not obey Moraes' order for all internet providers to block domestic access to X. An Anatel representative told Reuters, however, that Starlink had backtracked and informed the regulator on Tuesday it would conclude the blocking within hours. Anatel verified Starlink has already started to cut access to X in Brazil.

-REUTERS-

OUTsurance expects rise in normalised earnings

OUTsurance flagged a between 11% and 21% rise in its normalised earnings per share for its year to end-June, boosted by increased investment income amid higher interest rates in SA and Australia. Its life insurance also delivered a much-improved operating result following stronger growth in the funeral market and discontinuation of face-to-face channels, but it also felt the effect of higher natural perils claims in Australia and start-up losses for its new business in Ireland.

-FIN24-