Earnings Labs

DRDGOLD Limited (DRD)

Q1 2022 Earnings Call· Wed, Feb 16, 2022

$27.35

-3.90%

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

The broadcast is now starting. All attendees are in listen-only mode.

Daniel Pretorius

Management

We're good to go. Good morning, everybody and thank you for joining us for results for the 6 months ending 31st of December 2021. Joining me on the Webinar this morning, Riaan Davel, Chief Financial Officer, and Jaco Schoeman, Chief Operations. I'm going to be doing quarterly presentation as per usual, and then Riaan will takeover to talk you through the financials. And then right at the end, we'll also consider your questions. And then, the three of us will be available to answer whatever questions you might have. Moving onto the 3rd slide. It's just the disclaimer -- let's see here. Once again, I think the picture in the background is not coincidental. It's really to give a sense of some of the stuff we'd be doing in terms of our environmental containment. What you are seeing there on that picture, is a piece of earth-moving equipment, putting cladding on top of our tailing stem in the [Indiscernible] area. And then of course, it's for vegetation to be established, and you'll see some of those numbers there as well. And then also, please note the three-word say; mine, enhance and sustain. It's really an integrated value proposition that we are hoping to bring to the market, and we are hoping that that will also appear on the content of this presentation. So, moving on to the first slide, I'm assuming that you've read through the disclaimer. Just dealing really briefly with the highlights for the six months, and we comparing the six months here with the first half of 2020, which was the first half of COVID had set in. And you'll see that the numbers are actually quite different between the two and the tone has maybe also slightly different compared to what you'll see in the shareholders…

Riaan Davel

Management

Thank you very much, Neil. Good morning, everyone. It's always my privilege to join this reporting platform with Neil. If I may just provide some context before I hit the detail on the financial numbers and either alluded to at the mine and on staying on the screen. And just to note, again, it's what you're trying to do as a business. And I got share gain to have a look at our website. It has been revamped recently and our integrated report, where we specify our purpose as running back environmental legacy of mining. And then through that starting in South Africa. But I feel like that's further as a vision to also look at that solution responsible environment management and sustainable development and theoretically in any place in the world where large-scale gold mining has tightened place. Again, and just to provide, what does that mean? What does it mean to roll back the environmental legacy of mining? Now for me, and one great example of that is, that we want to mine for as long as we can. Because if we can do that, we do more environmental cleanup. We improved lives of people living close to those towns we have sustainable land use. And at the same time, we also give our shareholders exposure to the gold price over a long, long period of time. And again, what that doesn't mean for me is, if we haven't look at our financial point-of-view. So, we do not go early to the highest-grade sites that we have and try to extract high-grade yield. [Indiscernible] very short period of time and make a massive financial return. So that's differently not what it means. It's always around blending. It's always around sustainability. And that's really what excites me about this…

Daniel Pretorius

Management

Thanks, Riaan. This and maybe perhaps just a little bit on the performance of that chip price obviously. The fact that our companies is a dividend-paying company, and that we're maintaining a return of between 3% and 5%. But there is something that obviously supports the shape price amongst the shareholder crude thing with a particular requirement at the time in this regard. But then also, we do take crew exposure to the Gulf price and I think that's another feature of our company. And there are a number of reasons why we do that. Obviously, on the first -- in the first place, you don't want to sacrifice potential upside. So, you're going to have to protect revenue and basic EPS is essential to do that. And with the gold price is volatile and is responsive as it is to a number of different market dynamics. Never going to be able to anticipate all of those. So, on this call, specific purpose in the short-term we don't want to walk away from potential upside. And then also the reality of the matter is that a company adjusts to the revenue line. The costs adjust to the revenue line over time. And if you create an artificial support base for your revenue line, then at some point or another, your costs might just start challenging that revenue line and the instrument then expires, and you back to a gold price that is reduced all of a sudden because of the maturity of the full position. Then you might find yourself potentially in a very unhealthy costs situation. So, we don't try to call the market. We take full exposure to the gold price. And what the gold price does for those who understand it's dynamics and then you have an…

A - Daniel Pretorius

Management

We'll now take your questions. I'll have a first step with the questions, and if they're too difficult for me to answer, then I'll cross them on to Riaan [Indiscernible]. Thank you very much for tuning in and thank you also for [Indiscernible]. Okay. I'll just click up the chat box. All right. Sandile, you've got a question. I wanted us to ask Neil to provide a bit of update on the green metal strategy, specifically regarding commodities of interest, excuse me, uranium, copper. This ambition will be funded from external or by a controlling shareholder. Secondly, I would like to get a sense where yields are likely to normalize performance goal over in the next few years largely for modeling purposes. How should I think about for that long term having sustaining cost, but not all of that? This is an epic demand that will find give as much information as we can at this stage. In terms of the commodity. So, Sibanye-Stillwater, they made it clear that wants to focus on expanding to battery metals or future metals. And we've announced that we would want to partner them and align ourselves with expenditures. So, where they go, we want to go with them and where they find tailings that could be a process for this purpose we want to be involved in that process. So early days, in terms of actual project, but the conversations that we're having at this stage of good conversations, I think the right people in Sibanye-Stillwater, have taken an interest in what we do. We have the full support of [Indiscernible] and their CEO in pursuing these goals. And it will be basically aligning ourselves with that. But we don't have anything at this stage to announce that requires any sort of announcement,…

Riaan Davel

Management

That's right. as you mentioned, Niel, it is supported in the short-term and some of that is included in that R600 million capital guidance. So, we'll definitely see in the short term. The all-in sustaining cost for Ergo, will go up. Sandile, based on that spend. And then as Neil alluded to it, we're obviously looking to firstly upgrade the reserve for Ergo and closely linked to that is the increase of the [Indiscernible] facility. And then yes, just maybe conceptually long-term, and hopefully as that information becomes available, obviously, the reserve update will be publishing information in that respect. But just conceptually, as you know, Ergo is a challenging operation in that it has many sites at the moment. So, you look sort of medium-term to long-term, the idea is to approach larger sites, which has less of a cost base -- a smaller cost base. And that's really the vision. So, volumes up from smaller sites or from fewer sites. As we see over time, maybe the grade's simplistic as you would see in the reserve segment will decrease. But hopefully when that is available, we'll publish it. But just to give you a seat, at the [Indiscernible].

Daniel Pretorius

Management

Thanks, [Indiscernible]. The next question is from [Indiscernible]. They want to get an update from the timelines for the PV launch in the total expenditure. But so, the first place you would've seen in the latency shareholder is ten-megawatt solar facility correction, a 20-megawatt solar facility and then a number of modular storage units. And importantly, also an upgrade of the existing call it grids infrastructure of an 88 [Indiscernible] line. And that's a modular sort of design. So, it can be twice of that, it could be three times that depending on the availability of capex and also the model on which we decide. We haven't taken a final decision on whether we want to do this off-balance sheet or internally. Much of what you see here in terms of the first phase, we believe will be done internally. And in terms of the timing, we're waiting for one letter, one signature from one regulator, one external party. Once we get that, we'll see some drilling machines hopefully starting to move some soil and rock and we can get going. So, I suppose it's part of the frustration really of listening to the political promise if you wanted to listen to these [Indiscernible], and then implementing it. They'll still administer the process that needs to be followed and not everybody goes through his entire or her entire inbox every day and stay at the office before that inbox is clear. Some of them take a little bit longer. Some of them seemingly don't look at the -- bother to look at their inbox. Am I being cynical now Jaco, or no? I don't think so. I think we might actually get that later anytime soon. Yes. That we've made some good progress and we expect the -- what is it? The costing letter from [Indiscernible]. That's the only thing outstanding. And then [Indiscernible] has been good. They have been responsive, so I'm being a little bit [Indiscernible]. When in terms of capital, Riaan, I don't know if you want to share some of the numbers in terms of capital, but maybe just in terms of the caveat line. Think we want to build. I mean, that is something that we know will spend internally in the near term.

Riaan Davel

Management

Maybe Jaco wouldn't like me to do that. We probably wouldn't want to be too specific on the capital. But as you've mentioned, we want to provide that information in the next two or three months, in a day, where we give some insights on that. Let's wait for that later. It's a really exciting project, but let's wait for that. And maybe if I can combine a response to under what conditions from [Indiscernible], will be looked to leveraging our balance sheet and taking on some date, and that's one scenario. Clearly, what's the PowerBlocks and the battery backup? Clearly, our balance sheet is five study is ready for some date and that just makes a lot of things for us to bring in some green financing, sustainability linked financing. I see that as a huge opportunity because as you mentioned, just fits like a glove with our strategy around sustainable development, green power, cheaper power, and more reliable power from a business that operates 24 hours a day. So hopefully in the next, as you mentioned, two or three months. But we will be able to update the market on more specifics. And I know most exclude one will roughly be comfortable.

Daniel Pretorius

Management

I mean, generally speaking as the person who's naturally conservative about this sort of thing. [Indiscernible] the numbers that conceptually are well within our reach at the moment. It's not really going to affect the balance sheet. And taking on debt and it's got green bond written all over it, that would be a matter of choice, not a matter of integrity. Decent terms of [Indiscernible] to be here is what the fifth phase is all about. Right, thank you. Thanks, Leon. And then Nick was asking about Ergo costs. Cost increases were once off and related to trucking, etc. And now we're of the basis we assume part of the reason giving us the cost increases around steel, etc. Each cost supply equally to Far West Gold. [Indiscernible]. Remember, you're talking about a vastly different volume throughput arrangement here. Ergo is closer to 2 million tons a month, whereas always called. It's done about 500 thousand tonnes, and a much shorter distance or [Indiscernible] of camping. So, with Ergo having I think adjusted to a slightly lower head grade profile and with the higher volume throughput, that's when you're going to see an increase in reagents. So, if you look at the cost per tonne, then the increase is not significant, but the higher tonnes and lower volume -- our recorrection, lower gold content and as a consequence, more reagents. The steel is something which we simply just had to absorb. I don't think it was foreseeable that it was going to be quite this steep. That's been affected in, that impacts more on the capital expenditures, it's not a big impact in terms of operating costs. So, in terms of operating costs, it's really been the reagents and tracking costs. We are tracking in more high-grade material. So, I suppose the decision that you've got to take, that we want to make, is are we going to produce less gold in order to preserve the cost base or are we going to take advantage of the higher gold price in order to bring in high grade material and still produce gold ahead of profits. And then I think we stood up for the latter. Because the more tonnes you bring in to your plant, the more on the whole you also dilute your [Indiscernible] will cost. Yes, I can understand if there is a degree of frustration, but I suppose if you work with our numbers everyday, a little bit more. All those costs, I think all those pretty much sickled now and the hatred levels that we can expect going forward. It's also [Indiscernible] into the volume profile that we can expect going forward. The increases in cost that we might see would be external, would-be inflation. It wouldn't be because of a change in the customer makeup. Jaco, I don't know if you want to elaborate on that, but I think we're probably into a slightly more stable profile now.

Jaco Schoeman

Management

Niel, Riaan has already alluded to it. We indicated that the money calls for us to moving to bigger sites with more stable tonnages, and therefor moving off some of the cleanup sites. The cleanup sites are good, that produce additional gold, but it comes at a cost, which is also some of the cost that you've seen in that circuit. And then as the mining plan changes to the largest sites, we also do expect the cost to come off similarly, but that is in the medium-term.

Daniel Pretorius

Management

We've got a vast footprint at the moment. It's got a lot of moving parts. It is a complex footprint at Ergo at the moment, I think there are 15 sites where we are active. Two of those sites are stockpiling sites weigh the costs. We stockpiling material, but we're not producing that material just yet, so you would recognize some of those costs, but businesses that revenue coming in, that revenue will come in at some point or another. But that is how you manage with heavy [Indiscernible] you balance, clean up in production and we're in a position to do it now. And as a consequence, we are hitting these slides quite hard. The seven upsides starting in the fall, we spend all the way through to the ESA and now being sequentially targeted. And whatever we can lift in stockpile and as much as it might have value in there, we do. But not all of that's coming into the circuit just yet because it's competing for space with some of the other throughput sites. If you compare this model now, and once this has all been done, the machines are off site, the areas have been cleared, and you're no longer retaining from six or seven sites, but you're down to three or four sites, of course, your cost profile looks a lot different because it's far less complex. More higher volume sites, fewer moving parts, and that could bring that R129 per ton, that could bring it down quite significantly. Admittedly, also, over yield, and we'll have to see what the reaging balance will look like at that point in time. But we're talking sort of three years into the future. But at the moment, the Ergo site, is a complex site with a lot of moving parts. And I think the team understands it. The team's approaching it from the perspective of sustainability. We learned a hard lesson in 2017/2018 where we have to go back to a site. Then clean it up because the legacy site, while we have other sites waiting to get into -- coming into circuit, a lot closer to plant, they're not being able to because all of the volume throughput all the capacity was being taken up by this cleanup. Just in the revenue in a period of six months that costs us R77 million. That's not adding the opportunity costs. So, we're not making that mistake again. We are making sure that once we are off site, we are off site. And we can move on to the next site. Stay with us for the near-term. And as we sort of migrate towards a slightly less complicated profile, but at the moment, there are a lot of moving parts.

Riaan Davel

Management

Yeah. If I might want to speak, you two are right. And what we've seen from the Ergo costs over the last six months, costs will be under pressure in the near term. I think that is the reality that we're managing and our cost guidance of cash operating cost for the group of R600 thousand per kilogram will be under pressure. I think that is the reality of the cost basis that we've seen through, and the short-term debt that will remain.

Daniel Pretorius

Management

Thanks. And then I just want to briefly deal with a question from Arnold. His question is; We're aligning with Sibanye-Stillwater, does that mean you're not looking at anything outside of Sibanye-Stillwater? No, I think Riaan mentioned earlier in the presentation that our purpose is to roll back the environmental legacy of mining, and our vision is to do that internationally, globally. And obviously, if there was something appealing outside of South Africa that enable us to also diversify in terms of jurisdiction, and in terms of product, provided that it's within this band of product that we've identified, then we will want to look at that and that will be done in, obviously, in consultation with Sibanye-Stillwater. So, I think there's is still the closest. It's the shortest route to growth. It's almost in-house growth and one can structure those quite dynamically, depending on what the sort of value unlock is or the value proposition is, do you want to present something to the market as a standalone, something that can be modeled and brought into a balance sheet and be recognized in terms of market cap or is it going to be for the revenue earning service that we provide, because the value unlocked would not be as profound, for example, as what we have seen before it's gone. There is the opportunity for dynamic conversation and structuring is that conversations between ourselves and Sibanye -Stillwater, we we're not closing our minds to other opportunities. We've looked at a few North America. We better looking in Europe, number of things and if it fits the profile, and then we might send people to go and have a look, but we've been not rushing into anything. But this would be looking broader than Sibanye-Stillwater and broader than South Africa. I think we've covered them all. I'm sorry, all of those was out of sequence. I didn't scroll all the way up to the top. Yes, I think we've covered them all. I don't see any other questions.

Riaan Davel

Management

Niel, if I may, there's just one come in right at the end from Nick Dunham saying the increase in the transmission line and then can happen too far ahead of the expansion of the TSF, so when do you expect expansion to happen?

Daniel Pretorius

Management

Probably as soon as we get the letter. We want to do it now, it's been approved. We've been sitting on the starting blocks now holding our breath. And we just need to get this [Indiscernible] We think it will be here anytime soon.

Riaan Davel

Management

There’re no further questions.

Daniel Pretorius

Management

Well, thanks, everybody. Thank you very much for dialing in. And if anything, material happens, well, we will announce it. But in the meantime, please have a look at our website and please [Indiscernible] to the integrated support. A lot of what we're trying to convey here has actually been summarized very nicely in that integrated support. Okay. Thank you very much. Have a good day.

Riaan Davel

Management

Thanks, Niel. Thanks, everyone.