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DRDGOLD may pay dividend Posted: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 [miningmx.com] -- THE Beatles’ were still the rage the last time DRDGOLD, or one of its previous incarnations, paid out a dividend to shareholders. But talk in the corridors of the gold company is that a special dividend may be sanctioned in August when the board meets to discuss the matter. John Sayers, DRDGOLD’s newly installed CEO, won’t be drawn on the possibility of a dividend. But he confirms that a A$0,05c/share dividend from Emperor Mines Ltd, the Australian-listed firm in which DRDGOLD Ltd has a 78% stake, will be paid. At the time of writing, this dividend was scheduled for June. It represents repayment of a $60m loan from Emperor Mines to DRDGOLD Ltd. After that, DRDGOLD Ltd will assess outstanding capital and organic growth requirements of its South African-based subsidiary, DRDGOLD SA, where the majority of the group’s assets are now held. After satisfying the cash needs of the company “attention will be given to what’s left,” said a source. Repaying shareholders would certainly send a signal to investors that DRDGOLD is a company changing its attitude. In the last 10 years or so, the company has lurched from crisis to crisis throughout which it almost nonchalantly remained one of the most heavily traded stocks on NASDAQ. All through the gold price revivalism talk of the late Nineties, DRDGOLD remained the go-to stock for the faithful. Nick Goodwin, a gold analyst from T-Sec, said there are better ways of sending a signal, however. “Pay out money you’ve earned rather than money you’ve got from somewhere else,” he said. “Turning the operations around would be a better signal.” DRDGOLD is a company on the edge. Having thrown nearly all his chips into its South African mines – most of which are marginal and unpredictable – Sayers needs to carefully assess the future. “They’re going to need that cash. Every cent of it,” said Goodwin. Click Here to subscribe to our daily newsletter
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