Gold Fields overtakes Naspers as Africa’s most valuable company as market cap hits $43.3 billion

Gold Fields Ltd. has reclaimed its position as Africa’s most valuable listed company, dethroning consumer internet giant Naspers Ltd. after a sharp run-up in bullion lifted the miner’s market capitalization to $43.3 billion on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

Gold Fields shares rise 44 percent in month

Data tracked by Shore.Africa shows shares of the Johannesburg-based gold producer jumped 44.2 percent over the past month, pushing its market capitalization to R693.1 billion (R43.3 billion). Over the same period, Naspers slipped 4.58 percent, bringing its valuation down to R604.2 billion ($37.7 billion). The rally in Gold Fields stock on the JSE tracks a broad advance in physical bullion, which gained more than 11 percent over the past month.

Gold changed hands above $4,500 an ounce on Friday, heading toward a third consecutive weekly gain as investors sought shelter in precious metals amid turbulence in foreign exchange and bond markets. Lingering inflation worries, driven partly by firmer oil prices, alongside steady central bank buying led by China, have kept a floor under bullion prices.

Gold Fields balance sheet strengthens on gold

Higher market prices have flowed directly through to the producer’s balance sheet. In its latest operational update for the quarter ended March 31, Gold Fields reported that stronger realized prices and higher sales volumes helped trim its net debt by 34 percent year-on-year to $1.304 billion, down from $1.981 billion a year earlier. The debt reduction came even after the company distributed a final dividend payout of $1.234 billion on March 16.

The cash flow helped tidy up the miner’s balance sheet leverage. Gold Fields lowered its net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio to 0.19 times by the end of March, compared with 0.26 times at the end of December 2025 and 0.59 times a year earlier. The company’s realized gold price reached $4,855 an ounce during the quarter, up sharply from $2,900 an ounce in the first three months of 2025.

Gold output rises 15 percent to 633,000 ounces 

Production also moved higher. Group attributable gold-equivalent output rose 15 percent year-on-year to 633,000 ounces, up from 551,000 ounces a year earlier, though production dipped 7 percent compared with the 681,000 ounces logged in the final quarter of 2025. Total managed production stood at 649,100 ounces.

Much of that year-on-year volume boost came from the Salares Norte mine in Chile, which logged its first full quarter of steady operations after reaching commercial output in August 2025. Gold-equivalent output at the Chilean mine reached 173,300 ounces—up from 50,200 ounces in the first quarter of 2025 and an 8 percent lift from the prior quarter—helped by higher processing rates and improved silver and gold recovery levels.