Harmony Gold Posts Record FY26: Revenue Up 34% to ZAR 100bn, HEPS Rises 87%

Harmony Gold's fiscal 2026 was a record year, with revenue rising 34% to ZAR 100 billion and headline earnings per share up 87% to ZAR 43.63, driven by a sharply higher average gold price and an impairment reversal.

The company's FY26 trading statement, dated 21 August 2026, put the average gold price received at R2,069,710/kg (US$3,811/oz), a 35.3% increase from the R1,529,358/kg (US$2,620/oz) achieved in FY25. Harmony Gold FY26 Trading Statement. Morningstar separately reported that Harmony expected its fiscal full-year earnings to rise year on year following the impairment reversal and as higher gold prices boosted revenue. Morningstar.

The FY26 result caps a year in which the gold price ramped steadily. Harmony's H1FY26 interim results, dated 11 March 2026, reported the average gold price received (including hedge) rose 36% to R1,909,849/kg (US$3,421/oz) from R1,405,020/kg (US$2,437/oz) in the prior comparable period, while group revenue rose 20%. The H1FY26 trading statement dated 9 March 2026 had put the US-dollar gold price increase at 40% to US$3,421/oz. The second-half acceleration is visible in the gap between that interim figure and the full-year US$3,811/oz, implying an H2 average roughly US$4,200/oz.

For context, the prior fiscal year had already been strong. Harmony's FY25 trading statement, dated 25 August 2025, reported a 27% increase in the average gold price to R1,529,358/kg (US$2,620/oz) from R1,201,653/kg (US$1,999/oz). Full-year results released 28 August 2025 showed headline earnings per share up 26% to 2,337 SA cents (129 US cents).

The trajectory from FY25 to FY26 is therefore one of compounding price strength. Gold received moved from US$1,999/oz in FY24 to US$2,620/oz in FY25 to US$3,811/oz in FY26, a roughly 91% cumulative increase over two years. Revenue growth at 34% to ZAR 100 billion in FY26 outpaced the H1 revenue increase of 20%, consistent with the steeper second-half gold price. The 87% jump in HEPS to ZAR 43.63, against a 35.3% gold price increase, indicates operational deleverage working in Harmony's favor, augmented by the impairment reversal flagged in the trading statement.

A few things stand out for anyone tracking South African gold miners. First, the rand-denominated price increase (35.3%) came in below the US-dollar increase implied by the H1 figures, suggesting rand strength against the dollar during parts of FY26 partially dampened the local-currency gold price. A stronger rand is a structural headwind for rand-reporting gold producers, since costs are largely rand-denominated while the gold price is set in dollars. Second, the impairment reversal is a non-cash item that inflates headline earnings under IFRS, though it is treated as part of headline earnings per South African practice. Stripping it out would still leave a substantial earnings increase driven by operating leverage to the gold price, but the exact split between operating performance and the reversal is not disclosed in the trading statement.

Third, the hedge book bears watching. The H1FY26 gold price was reported "including hedge," meaning Harmony's forward sales and option programmes partially muted the realized price relative to the spot gold price. As spot gold rose through the second half, any legacy hedges struck at lower prices would have continued to drag on realized prices, though the full-year US$3,811/oz figure suggests either hedge losses narrowed or the hedge book was relatively small by H2.

Looking at what this means for investors, the key question for FY27 is whether Harmony can hold or expand margins at these gold price levels, or whether cost inflation in South African deep-level mining (wage settlements, electricity tariffs, shaft-sustaining capital) will erode the benefit. The ZAR 100 billion revenue figure and 87% HEPS increase provide a high base. Sustaining HEPS at or near ZAR 43.63 in FY27 would require either stable-to-higher gold prices or meaningful cost discipline. Neither is guaranteed, and the trading statement does not provide forward guidance on production volumes or all-in sustaining costs.

The verified facts do not include guidance on FY27 production, costs, or dividend policy. Harmony's FY25 results disclosed a final dividend, but no comparable FY26 capital return figure appears in the trading statement. That will be a focal point when full FY26 results are published.