Business Briefing | Harmony says SA’s strong ratings drive sales growth; European electric vehicle sales fall

(Photo by Nigel Jared/Getty Images)

It was a pretty busy day for the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with Harmony reporting good news and Standard Bank reporting earnings growth. Sasol also got some good news, while Transnet, Trustco and Ascendis did not. In international news, the latest data showed that electric car sales in Germany plunged 30% in May, dragging European sales down 12%. This could help drive competition for more affordable cars.

Gold Miner Harmony The company said it expected total production for the year to the end of June to exceed guidance of 1.55 million ounces (48,210 kg), while all-in sustaining costs would be comfortably below guidance of 920,000 rand/kg.“Operational excellence, along with our safety efforts, ensured we had another strong year,” Chief Executive Peter Steenkamp said in a statement.“We continue to deliver excellent underground recovery grades from our South African operations. I commend the positive performance of each business. Underground recovery grades will be above guidance by 6g/t for the full year 2024,” he said.Harmony, which has a market capitalization of about 104 billion rand on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, was up about 2% late Thursday afternoon, having more than doubled in the past year.