S.Africa's DRDGold half-year profit jumps on bullion strength

(Reuters) - South Africa's DRDGold Ltd reported a 7.4% rise in half-year profit on Wednesday, as higher gold prices offset the impact of power cuts on its metal processing operations and escalating costs.

DRDGold's headline earnings per share (HEPS) - the main profit measure in South Africa - was 62.3 cents ($0.0346) in the six months to Dec. 31, up from 58 cents a year earlier, it said in a statement.

The company, primarily involved in retreating mine dumps to recover gold, said it had benefited from an 11% increase in the rand price received for its metal sales during the period.

DRDGold said it had processed less ore due to power cuts, which have intensified over the past several months as South Africa's state-owned power utility Eskom struggles to supply adequate electricity.

($1 = 17.9815 rand)

(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Tom Hogue and Rashmi Aich)