REG-Pan African Resources Plc: Summarised audited results for the year ended 30 June 2024

Pan African ResourcesAnnouncement

11/09/2024 07:15

Pan African Resources PLC (Incorporated and registered in England and Wales under the Companies Act 1985 with registration number 3937466 on 25 February 2000) Share code on AIM: PAF Share code on JSE: PAN ISIN: GB0004300496 ADR ticker code: PAFRY (Pan African or the Company or the Group)    

(Key features are reported in United States dollar (US$) or South African rand
(ZAR), to the extent relevant.)

 

summarised audited results for the year ended 30 June 2024 – SHORT FORM
ANNOUNCEMENT

KEY FEATURES

 
Production* Group gold production increased by 6.2% to 186,039oz (2023:
175,209oz), in line with guidance 
* Operational enhancements and optimisation initiatives resulted in
significant improvements at Barberton Mines’ underground and Elikhulu
Tailings Retreatment Plant’s (Elikhulu) surface operations, resulting in
annual increases of:	* Gold production from Fairview and Sheba Mines increased
by 13.5% to 65,580oz (2023: 57,778oz)
* Elikhulu’s gold production increased by 8.4% to 54,812oz (2023: 50,573oz) 
	
 Safety·      Significant improvement in the Group’s industry-leading
safety statistics across all operations Costs and cost outlook* All-in
sustaining costs (AISCAPM) for the current reporting period of US$1,354/oz
(2023: restated US$1,309/oz) at an average exchange rate of US$/ZAR: 18.71,
marginally above guidance of between US$1,325/oz to US$1,350/oz, with the
delay in commissioning Evander Mines’ subvertical hoisting shaft negatively
impacting unit costs
* AISC of US$1,170/oz (2023: restated US$1,132/oz) for our lower-cost
operations, which account for more than 84% (2023: 81%) of annual production
* 2025 AISC guidance of between US$1,350/oz and US$1,400/oz (assuming an
exchange rate of US$/ZAR:18.50), with the Mogale Tailings Retreatment
project’s (MTR project) low-cost production offsetting inflationary
pressures
 
Near-term growth projectsSurface remining operations
The MTR project’s commissioning is in progress, with steady-state production
expected by latest December 2024. This US$135.1 million project is expected to
be delivered under budget and ahead of schedule. The Barberton Tailings
Retreatment Plant’s (BTRP) life-of-mine has been extended to seven years
(previously two years), following a successful internal project to reassess
feedstock sources, further enhancing the Group’s high-margin, long-life
surface remining operations.

 
Underground operations* Evander Mines’ 8 Shaft 24 and 25 Level underground
expansion project is now scheduled to be completed by the end of September
2024, following delays in the equipping of the ventilation shaft for
hoisting	* Equipping the 17 to 24 Level subvertical hoisting shaft will
significantly increase efficiencies by reducing reliance on the current
cumbersome conveyor belt infrastructure for ore transport 
* 24 Level’s refrigeration plant will be commissioned in phases to
facilitate mining at depth
* 25 Level mining area access development has commenced
 
Production guidance·      2025 financial year production guidance of
215,000oz to 225,000oz, with the expected increase in production largely
attributable to the contribution from the Group’s new MTR project, but
potentially impacted by:* The delay in the commissioning of Evander Mines’
subvertical shaft, scheduled to be completed during September 2024, could
impact guidance by approximately 5,000oz
* Evander Mines’ underground vamping operations and earlier production from
the MTR project may offset the impact of the above-mentioned delay
 Financial* Revenue increased by 16.8% to US$373.8 million (2023: restated
US$319.9 million)
* Profit for the year increased by 30.2% to US$78.8 million (2023: restated
US$60.5 million)
* Headline earningsAPM increased by 32.1% to US$79.5 million (2023: restated
US$60.2 million)
* Earnings per share increased by 32.1% to US 4.14 cents per share (2023:
restated US 3.18 cents per share) and headline earnings per shareAPM increased
by 32.2% to US 4.15 cents per share (2023: restated US 3.14 cents per share)
* Net cash generated from operating activities declined by US$9.3million to
US$90.8 million (2023: US$100.1 million)
* Net debtAPM increased to US$106.4 million, mainly as a result of the
construction of the MTR project (2023: US$22.0 million)
* Available cash and undrawn debt facilities at year-end of US$95.0 million
(2023: US$84.7 million).
Proposed dividend
* Sector-leading final dividend of ZA 22.00000 cents per share (or US 1.20946
cents per share at an exchange rate of US$/ZAR:18.19) proposed for approval at
the upcoming annual general meeting (AGM)
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives* The Group continues to
lead the way on renewable energy initiatives and establishing a roadmap to
decarbonisation
* Construction of Fairview Mine’s solar facility completed at Barberton
Mines in June 2024 and hot-commissioned in July 2024
* Renewed power purchase agreement with Sturdee Energy, subject to certain
suspensive conditions, with ground clearing for construction having commenced
* Evander Mines’ 3ML/day water recycling plant capacity to be doubled in the
next two years 
* Rehabilitation at the MTR project’s Mogale and Soweto sites is in
progress.
 

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S STATEMENT

Cobus Loots, Pan African’s chief executive officer, commented:

 

“I am extremely pleased to report on Pan African’s achievements and
outstanding financial results for the past year.  Furthermore, the Group is
now poised to deliver on our next phase of value-accretive production growth
at the MTR project, a testament to Pan African’s ability to continue to
create value for all its stakeholders.

 

We find ourselves in a very favourable gold price environment, with the metal
appreciating by more than 20% in US$ terms in the past year, and generally
positive sentiment on its near-term prospects.  However, we also recognise
that, although fortuitous, the commodity price tailwinds may not last
indefinitely. We therefore have to use this opportunity to ensure our business
model remains robust, and continue to position our assets for long-term
sustainability.

 

The fact that gold equities continue to underperform the gold price, reflects
investor concerns pertaining to capital allocation and sustainable value
creation in the sector.  Certainly, the recent escalations in AISC globally
(now around US$1,400/oz on average) suggest that producer margins and profits
are being eroded by cost pressures and by a general underinvestment in capital
expenditure and mining development over many years. 

 

Pan African can demonstrate a track record of sector-leading returns and
dividends to shareholders, despite occasional challenging operating conditions
and the age of our underground operations (Barberton Mines has been producing
for almost 140 years).  Our enviable record is reflective of the quality of
and optionality inherent in our portfolio, and also of management’s
unrelenting focus on disciplined capital allocation and cost control.

 

With the additional production from the MTR project, our Group will be firmly
positioned as a mid-tier producer, with production growing by approximately
25% and a commensurate reduction in the Group’s unit costs of production - a
feat that larger gold miners may find difficult to emulate, given the scale of
their operations.

 

This year marks the 10th time that I am reporting in my capacity as chief
executive officer and, in reflecting on the past and where the Group is now, I
believe that Pan African has attractive prospects and is well-positioned to
continue “Mining for a Future”.   

 

THE LAST DECADE AND THE WORLD IN WHICH WE NOW OPERATE

 

Economically and politically, the world has been tumultuous and volatile
during this time. Economically, it had to deal with challenging financial
cycles and the impact of COVID-19. The pandemic and subsequent escalating
geopolitical conflicts, especially in Ukraine and the Middle East, have
threatened lives and economies, while the impact of climate change affects the
planet and its inhabitants.

 

The South African economy faced the consequences of power curtailment, state
capture and low levels of investor confidence. Social upheaval reached a
boiling point during the riots of July 2021, the worst and most disruptive
incident of violence that South Africa experienced since the end of Apartheid.
The global status quo is one of bi-polarity fragile financial systems,
ever-increasing sovereign debt levels, as well as concerns about the next
economic downturn.

 

GOLD REAFFIRMING ITS STATUS AS A SAFE-HAVEN ASSET

 

Gold has regained its safe-haven status amid ongoing higher-than-expected
worldwide inflation and anxiety over geopolitics, elections and monetary
policy – all predictable reasons for the value of gold to appreciate. Gold
has historically been considered an inflation hedge, however cooling inflation
and the expected reduction in worldwide interest rates should also support
gold’s investment case.  

 

The perceived ‘weaponisation’ of the US$, following the outbreak of war in
Ukraine, appears to have expedited moves by central banks in many countries to
accumulate gold reserves in support of their respective economies and
currencies.  Gold has demonstrated its ability to act as a strong hedge
against uncertainty and as a currency to preserve real purchasing power.
 Gold has a track-record of millennia in this regard, an attribute that sets
it apart from speculative cryptocurrency alternatives, such as Bitcoin.

 

We believe that investing in a gold equity such as Pan African has several
advantages to a direct gold holding.  The Company provides its shareholders
with a cash return in the form of dividends, increased leverage to the gold
price, substantial near-term production growth and a number of internal growth
opportunities, evidenced by our project pipeline.

 

A DECADE AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

 

In the early 2010s, Pan African was a single-asset company, holding only the
Barberton Mines underground operations.

 

Over the past 10 years, the Group has successfully diversified into a
long-life, high-margin operator, with multiple assets, improved flexibility
and reduced volatility.  We have also increased profitable production and
investor returns. Shareholders have received returns through both compound
capital growth of more than 10% per year over the past few years and an
increasing annual dividend. Pan African has regularly featured in the Top 10
of the JSE’s Top 100 performing companies over the past few years. More
recently in 2024, it has been the best-performing gold stock on the JSE year
to date, with the share price increasing by over 80% since the beginning of
the  calendar year and 100% year-on-year. The AIM recorded a similar
performance, where the share is also trading at all-time high levels. 

 

Value-adding projects completed by the Group’s incumbent management team and
board during the last ten years include:

• Securing, funding, construction and operation of transformative surfaces
assets
* BTRP
* Evander Tailings Retreatment Plant
* Elikhulu 
* The MTR project
• Evander Mines’ underground restructuring
* 8 Shaft pillar mining
* Level 24 to 26 development
• Group renewable energy initiatives
* Evander Mines’ solar plant
* Barberton Mines’ solar plant
 

While South African gold mining is often seen as a sunset industry, we believe
that the country still presents attractive opportunities. In 2022, we acquired
Mineral Resources from Mogale Gold Proprietary Limited and Mintails SA Soweto
Cluster Proprietary Limited (MSC) for US$1.12/oz, and then applied our
extensive surface tailings expertise to bring this project to account. We have
also accumulated considerable underground mining expertise, which we are
applying to exploit at Barberton Mines’ and Evander Mines’ underground
assets.

 

Pan African is proud of our demonstrated record of delivering large projects
on time and within budget, in an industry where this is lacking at times.

 

The gold price is at an all-time high, and this trend is expected to continue
in the foreseeable future. Pan African has over 30Moz of SAMREC-compliant gold
resources within its mining rights, secured in Barberton and Evander to 2051
and 2038, respectively. The Group’s unique value proposition of surface and
underground mining, high-margin long-life production, blend of financial
strength, growth potential, gold resource base, dividend track record and
unwavering dedication to ESG principles, makes it a compelling choice for
investors seeking to achieve sustainable returns while making a meaningful
positive impact on all stakeholders.

 

THIS YEAR’S FINANCIAL RESULTS

 

Pan African has delivered an outstanding set of operational and financial
results for the 2024 financial year. Notably, revenue increased by 16.8%,
supported by a 4.9% increase in gold sales to 184,885oz (2023: restated
176,216oz) and an 11.3% increase in the average US$ gold price received during
this period. The increased production and revenue demonstrate that steps taken
to improve operational efficiencies are yielding positive results.

 

The Group has made significant progress in advancing its growth projects, with
the development of Evander Mines’ 24 to 25 Level project and the
commissioning of the MTR project being prioritised.

 

Total capital expenditure for the year amounted to US$172.4 million (2023:
US$113.0 million), which resulted in an increase in net debt to US$106.4
million, relative to net debt of US$22.0 million in the previous financial
year.

 

AISC has increased marginally to US$1,354/oz (2023: restated US$1,309oz),
resulting in an AISC margin of 32.8% (2023: 27.7%) earned on the average 2024
financial year gold price of US$2,015/oz (2023: US$1,811/oz).

 

Cash holdings declined to US$26.3 million (2023: US$34.8 million) due to
project-specific capital expenditure, while net cash from operating activities
declined to US$90.7 million (2023: US$100.1 million) as a result of the
payment of increased income tax and finance costs.

 

Liquidity remains healthy, with access to immediately available cash and
undrawn facilities at financial year-end of US$95.0 million (2023: US$84.7
million).

 

These outstanding results are largely attributable to Pan African’s culture
of strict capital allocation discipline and circumspect investment decisions.

 

PROPOSED DIVIDEND FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024

 

The board has proposed a final dividend of ZAR489 million for the 2024
financial year (approximately US$26.8 million), equal to ZA 22.00000 cents per
share or approximately US1.20946 cents per share (0.95611 pence per share). A
dividend of ZA 18.00000 cents per share or approximately US 1.05820 cents per
share (or 0.86915 pence per share) was paid for the 2023 financial year. The
dividend is subject to approval by shareholders at the AGM, which is to be
convened for Thursday, 21 November 2024.

 

Assuming shareholders approve the final dividend, the following salient dates
would apply:

 

 Annual general meeting                                        Thursday, 21 November 2024   
 Currency conversion date                                      Thursday, 21 November 2024   
 Currency conversion announcement released by 11:00 (SA time)  Friday, 22 November 2024     
 Last date to trade on the JSE                                 Tuesday, 26 November 2024    
 Last date to trade on the LSE                                 Wednesday, 27 November 2024  
 Ex-dividend date on the JSE                                   Wednesday, 27 November 2024  
 Ex-dividend date on the LSE                                   Thursday, 28 November 2024   
 Record date on the JSE and LSE                                Friday, 29 November 2024     
 Payment date                                                  Tuesday, 10 December 2024    

 

The British Pound (GBP) and US$ proposed final dividend were calculated based
on a total of 2,222,862,046 shares in issue and an illustrative exchange rate
of US$/ZAR:18.19 and GBP/ZAR: 23.01, respectively.

 

No transfers between the Johannesburg and London registers, between the
commencement of trading on Wednesday, 27 November 2024 and close of business
on Friday, 29 November 2024 will be permitted.

 

No shares may be dematerialised or rematerialised between Wednesday, 27
November 2024 and Friday, 29 November 2024, both days inclusive.

 

The South African dividends taxation rate is 20% per ordinary share for
shareholders who are liable to pay dividends taxation, resulting in a net
dividend of ZA 17.60000 cents per share for these shareholders. Foreign
investors may qualify for a lower dividend taxation rate, subject to
completing a dividend taxation declaration and submitting it to Computershare
Investor Services Proprietary Limited or Link Asset Services, who manage the
South African and UK registers, respectively. The Company's South African
income taxation reference number is 9154588173. The proposed dividend will be
paid out of the Company's retained earnings, without drawing on any other
capital reserves.

 

AUDIT OPINION

 

The Group's external auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), has issued
their opinion on the consolidated annual financial statements for the year
ended 30 June 2024.

The audit of the consolidated annual financial statements was conducted in
accordance with the International Standards on Auditing. PwC has expressed an
unmodified opinion on the consolidated annual financial statements. A copy of
the audited annual financial statements and the audit report is available for
inspection at the issuer's registered office. Any reference to future
financial performance included in this summarised audited results announcement
has not been reviewed or reported on by the Group's external auditor.

 

DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITY

 

The information in this announcement has been extracted from the summarised
audited results for the year ended 30 June 2024, but this short-form
announcement itself has not been reviewed by the Company’s auditors. The
summarised audited results have been prepared under the supervision of the
financial director, Deon Louw. This short-form announcement is the
responsibility of the directors of Pan African and is only a summary of the
information contained in the full announcement and does not contain full or
complete details.

 

Any investment decisions should be based on the full announcement and the
Group’s detailed operational and financial summaries.

 

AVAILABILITY OF ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUMMARISED AUDITED RESULTS

 

The annual financial statements (together with PwC’s audit opinion thereon)
have been released on SENS and is available for viewing via the JSE link at
https://senspdf.jse.co.za/documents/2024/jse/isse/pan/FYE2024.pdf

and via the Company’s website at
https://www.panafricanresources.com/wp-content/uploads/Pan-African-Resources-integrated-annual-report-2024.pdf.

The summarised audited results for the year ended 30 June 2024 can be viewed
via the Company’s website at
https://www.panafricanresources.com/wp-content/uploads/Pan-African-Resources-year-end-results-SENS-announcement-2024.pdf

 

Copies of the full announcement may also be requested by emailing
ExecPA@paf.co.za  

 

The Company has a dual primary listing on the JSE in South Africa and the AIM
of the London Stock Exchange as well as a sponsored Level 1 ADR programme in
the USA through the Bank of New York Mellon and a secondary listing on the A2X
Markets.

 

For further information on Pan African, please visit the Company's website at

www.panafricanresources.com

 

Rosebank

 

11 September 2024

 

 

 Corporate information                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
 Corporate Office The Firs Building 2 nd Floor, Office 204 Cnr. Cradock and Biermann Avenues Rosebank, Johannesburg South Africa Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900 info@paf.co.za  Registered Office 2 nd Floor 107 Cheapside London EC2V 6DN United Kingdom Office: + 44 (0)20 3869 0706 info@paf.co.za  
 Chief Executive Officer  Cobus Loots  Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900                                                                                                           Financial Director and debt officer Deon Louw Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900                                              
 Head: Investor Relations Hethen Hira                                                                                                                                        Website: www.panafricanresources.com                                                                                   
  Tel: + 27 (0)11 243 2900                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
  E-mail: hhira@paf.co.za                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
 Company Secretary Jane Kirton St James's Corporate Services Limited Office: + 44 (0)20 3869 0706                                                                            Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker Ross Allister/Georgia Langoulant Peel Hunt LLP Office: +44 (0)20 7418 8900          
 JSE Sponsor and JSE Debt Sponsor Ciska Kloppers Questco Corporate Advisory Proprietary Limited Office: + 27 (0)11 011 9200                                                  Joint Broker Thomas Rider/Nick Macann BMO Capital Markets Limited Office: +44 (0)20 7236 1010                          
                                                                                                                                                                             Joint Broker Matthew Armitt/Jennifer Lee Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co KG (Berenberg) Office: +44 (0)20 3207 7800       

 



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