3rd Feb 2014 08:43
LONDON (Alliance News) - Randgold Resources Ltd Monday said it achieved record production in2013, but pretax profit fell because of the lower gold price.
The major gold mining company said its pretax profit fell 27% to USD402.5 million for the full calendar year 2013 from USD547.8 million the previous year, while fourth quarter pretax profit fell 18% to USD129.7 million from USD157.7 million the previous year.
The company said its total revenues fell to USD1.14 billion for the full year, a decrease of 3.4% on its USD1.18 billion 2012 figure, due largely to the fall in gold price, which declined to an average of USD1,257 per ounce during the fourth quarter from USD1,705 per ounce in the previous year.
Fourth quarterly revenue of USD291.8 million was down 16% from USD348.2 million a year before.
However, in a difficult environment for gold miners, the company managed to achieve record production and costs in line with guidance during the year and maintained its annual dividend of USD0.50 per share.
Randgold said its full-year production increased 15% to 910,374 ounces of gold from 794,844 ounces the previous year and its quarterly production increased 31% to 281,477 ounces compared from the same quarter in 2012.
In January, Randgold said its Loulo-Gounkoto Mining Complex in Mali is expected to beat its revised production target for 2013. On Monday, the company said it beat the guidance by 20,000 ounces by producing 580,000 ounces over the full year 2013.
In the Ivory Coast, the company's Tongon site completed almost all of its efficiency enhancement projects but despite increased throughput, recoveries are still below its targeted rate.
The company's Kibali mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo started production in September 2013 and sold its first gold in October, ending the quarter well ahead of forecasts with gold production of 88,200 ounces, 46% above its scheduled level.
The company also announced a full-year 2014 production target of between 1.13 million and 1.2 million ounces, which is a 24% to 30% increase based on increasing grades at the Loulu/Guonkoto Complex and increasing recoveries and throughput from Tongon, along with new production from Kibali.
Randgold said its full-year total cash cost per ounce fell 2.8% to USD715 from USD735 the previous year on the back of the strong gold production figures.
The company also noted that it is looking for new exploration discoveries and searching for profitable acquisition or joint venture opportunities generated by the current stress in the industry.
Randgold Resources shares were up 2.0% to 4,278.00 pence, putting them in the top three FTSE 100 movers in early trading Monday.
By Tom McIvor; [email protected]; @TomMcIvor1
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