The share price of gold miner, Sibanye Gold, was on a tear on Tuesday, gaining 7 percent during early trade on the JSE.

This was on the back of the company posting an increase in interim headlines earnings on Tuesday.

This showed that the market liked the results which saw headline earnings for the six months to June surging to R880 million from R453 million during the previous reporting period.

The company said during the period under review it posted a 63 percent surge in operating profit to R3.3 billion ($363 million).

This was despite a marked collapse in the price of gold since mid-April this year.

It also reported a “seven fold” swell in the hard cash to R2.1 billion ($206 million) with net cash produced during the period rising to R1.8 billion ($197 million).

Neal Froneman, the CEO of Sibanye Gold, said the improved performance in the second quarter of this year had become evident even in the third quarter of this year.

Froneman said the company has begun the process of containing falling gold production and was also managing high costs that have beset some of the company’s assets.

Froneman said the company remained positive about the outlook of all operations.

Sibanye Gold is a South African gold mining firm consisting of three principal operations.

These include Kloof and Driefontein in the West Wits region and Beatrix in the Free State Province.

Sibanye Gold is one of the largest gold producers in South Africa and among the top 10 largest gold producers in the country.

It listed this year on the JSE after it was formed when Gold Fields, among the biggest gold producer in the world, unbundled its operations.

Elsewhere on Ventures

Triangle arrow