JOHANNESBURG, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Harmony Gold Mining (HARJ.J) on Wednesday 30 September reported a four percent rise in total gold output for the September quarter compared with the previous one and said it expects a marginal rise in the next three months.

In a presentation published on its website, the world's fifth-biggest gold producer said cash costs had risen by between 9-12 percent during the quarter owing to a rise in wages and higher electricity tariffs.

Capital expenditure during the three-months fell 12 percent compared to the previous quarter, it said.

Harmony said it expects a marginal increase in production during the December quarter.

While the price of gold dropped to around 240,000 rand ($32,440) per kilogram where it has been for the past five months, the company is planning for a 225,000 rand/kg gold price during the second quarter.

The company said the stronger rand is expected to be detrimental for exports, but remains positive on the outlook going forward.

"We remain bullish on fundamentals in the medium- and longer term," it said in the presentation, adding it saw opportunities to grow organically in the quarter to come. (Reporting by Agnieszka Flak; Editing by Marius Bosch)