KEY POINTS
- ARM’s headline earnings rose 19% to R3.201 billion.
- Net cash increased to R10.171 billion and a R7-a-share dividend was declared.
- PGM operations surged, while ferrous and coal businesses recorded significant declines.
African Rainbow Minerals, ARM, has reported a strong improvement in its financial performance for the year ended June 30, 2026, driven largely by higher platinum group metals (PGM) prices.
The diversified South African mining company recorded headline earnings of R3.201 billion, representing a 19% increase from the previous financial year. The stronger performance was supported by improved dollar-denominated PGM basket prices and a substantial increase in earnings from ARM’s platinum operations.
The company’s board also declared a final dividend of R7 per share, reflecting its stronger financial position and improved cash generation during the year.
ARM’s revenue increased by 25% to R16.323 billion during the financial year, while the company benefited from a significant increase in dividends received from Harmony Gold.
The dividend contribution from Harmony Gold rose by 113% to R512 million, providing an additional boost to the group’s overall earnings.
ARM’s platinum business was one of the strongest performers during the period. Headline earnings from ARM Platinum increased by more than 200%, with both the Two Rivers and Modikwa PGM mines recording similarly strong increases.
The improvement highlights the benefit of stronger PGM prices to ARM’s operations, particularly as the company continues to maintain a diversified portfolio spanning platinum, iron ore, manganese, coal and copper.
Stronger Cash Position
ARM ended the financial year in a significantly stronger cash position.
The group’s net cash increased by R3.562 billion to R10.171 billion, giving the company greater financial flexibility and supporting the board’s decision to declare the R7-a-share final dividend.
The improved balance sheet also provides ARM with additional capacity to support its existing mining operations and progress its longer-term development projects.
ARM also reported a major improvement in its safety performance, recording zero fatalities during the financial year.
The company described the achievement as a significant milestone, noting that its previous fatality-free financial year was in FY2017.
The lost-time injury frequency rate improved by 9% to 0.29 per 200,000 person-hours. However, the total recordable injury frequency rate increased by 11% to 0.56, indicating that while fatal incidents were eliminated, further work remains necessary to improve overall workplace safety.
Despite the group-wide earnings growth, ARM’s ferrous operations experienced a difficult year.
Headline earnings from ARM Ferrous declined by 42% to R2.028 billion, mainly because of weaker contributions from the company’s iron-ore and manganese businesses.
Iron-ore headline earnings fell by 41%, while manganese earnings dropped by 68%.
The end of production at the Beeshoek mine also contributed to the weaker performance, with local sales volumes falling to 500,000 tonnes.
