30th Sep 2014 14:25
LONDON (Alliance News) - Goldbridges Global Resources PLC Tuesday said it moved to a pretax profit in the first-half of 2014, driven by a significant reduction in production and administrative costs.
The AIM-listed gold mining and development group with assets in Kazakhstan reported a pretax profit of USD2.7 million for the six months to June 30, compared with a pretax loss of USD2.3 million in the first-half of 2013.
The company said it saw a significant reduction in total production costs to USD11.6 million, down from USD15.9 million last year, while administrative costs also fell to USD3.3 million, down from last year's USD6.2 million.
It said unit cash costs also decreased to USD744 per ounce, compared with USD1,055 per ounce in the first-half of last year.
"The reorganisation and cost cutting measures that we have taken have had a positive effect on our operations. This, in combination with the weaker Kazakh Tenge, has resulted in the reporting of a profit for the six months to June 2014. The group is now well positioned to move forward to exploit its opportunities, both in developing the underground mine at Sekisovskoye and the ore fields at Karasuyskoye, once the necessary permits have been obtained," Chief Executive Officer Aidar Assaubayev said in a statement.
Revenue in the period fell to USD16.7 million, down from USD20 million a year earlier, due to the recent decline in the global price of gold, despite an increase in production.
The company said first-half gold production from Sekisovskoye was 12,694 ounces at an average grade of 1.42 grammes per tonne, compared to 12,673 ounces in the first half of 2013 at an average grade of 1.45 grammes per tonne.
The company's shares were trading 1.7% higher Tuesday afternoon at 3.05 pence per share.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; [email protected]; @rharrisdoughty
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