South African miner Harmony Gold, which doubled its dividend but the market had other plans after its first-half results showed disappointing results, with shares falling on the New York Stock Exchange. The company missed its production target of around 800,000 ounces of gold in the first half of the year, a 9% drop from the same period a year ago. The interim dividend for the company hit a record ZAR 3.4 billion, roughly $204 million. However, costs also surged, with all-in sustaining costs increasing 21% to $2,115 per ounce and labor inflation, Eskom load shedding, and lower production volumes all contributed to the decline. Despite these setbacks, Harmony's CEO Beyers Nel remains on track to meet full-year targets and expects the second half to deliver around 420,000 more ounces than first half. Despite this, the company ended the period with R8 billion in net cash, zero debt, and total liquidity of about R14.8 billion. The stock now sits at roughly 14 times forward earnings ($3,400 per ounce) and about six times the forward value of the company.