Shares in Egypt-focused gold miner Centamin got a boost on Wednesday after it reported a 43 per cent quarter-on-quarter leap in basic earnings per share (EPS) in the three months ended September 30th.
Basic EPS totalled a record 5.53 cents, which was also a 22% increase on the same period the previous year. Revenue came in at $103.1m, compared to $89.1m in the same period in 2011.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), also hit record levels, coming in at $67.1m, up 22% quarter-on-quarter and 25% on the prior year period.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Gold production totalled 60,922 ounces, down 10% quarter-on-quarter, but up 20% on the prior year period. The average sales price was $1,679, slightly down on £1,721 the prior year. Cash costs per ounce were $539 per ounce at subsidised fuel prices.
Josef El-Raghy, Chairman of Centamin, said: "The team at Sukari once again delivered a strong set of operating results which are particularly pleasing given the several cumulative issues that were faced and addressed during the quarter. Open pit tonnages continued to increase according to plan and the operation as a whole entered the fourth quarter well placed to meet our unchanged full year production guidance of 250,000 ounces.
"Mining and processing operations continue to perform in line with budget and we expect to meet our unchanged full year guidance of 250,000 ounces at $550 per ounce at subsidised fuel prices and $700 per ounce inclusive of fuel repayments.
"Our balance sheet remains strong, with cash, bullion on hand and liquid assets of $181.7m at the end of September."
The company remains debt free.
The share price climbed 2.05% to 72.35p by 09:00.
NR
-
Barclays begins paying up to £100 compensation to customers after banking outageBarclays will pay up to £7.5 million in compensation to customers after its banking services were disrupted by an IT outage
-
Review: Shangri-La Paris – an ode to the world’s best foodNatasha Langan enjoys fine French and Chinese cuisine at the Shangri-La Paris
