Gold miner Randgold Resources saw profits surge in the first half of 2012 on the back of a record performance from its flagship Loulo-Gounkoto complex in Mali.
Profit before tax in the first half of the year was $269.5m, up from $197.1m in the same period of 2011. The second quarter of 2012 saw profit step up to $153.2m from $116.3m in the first quarter.
Half-year revenues rose to $617.9m from $506.8m the year before. The quarterly break-down was: first quarter - $271.3m; second quarter - $346.6m.
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Diluted earnings per share of $2.22 in the first half of 2012 were sharply higher than the $1.67 achieved in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Production for the half-year was up 16% at 375,977 ounces from 324,114 ounces in the first half of last year. While total cash cost per ounce of $723 for the six months was up 6% year on year, reflecting the higher cost of production at Tongon in the first six months, total cash costs for the quarter were $703 per ounce, down 6% from the previous quarter, supporting a trend to lower cash costs on the back of higher grades and increased production, the company said.
Randgold's flagship Loulo-Gounkoto complex did most of the heavy lifting, with production in the second quarter up by 27% to 210,534 ounces against the previous quarter's 165,443 ounces.
Gold sales for the second quarter increased by 27% from the previous quarter due primarily to a 36% increase in ounces of gold sold, partially offset by a 6% decrease in the average gold price received of $1 600 per ounce from $1 707 per ounce in the first quarter.
"Our capital projects team is well on the way to building our next mine and the exploration teams continue to feed new prospects into our project pipeline, working to ensure that we have the organic resources to maintain our growth momentum," Chief Executive Mark Bristow said.
"We are also looking at the opportunities that are being created by the current dynamics of the gold mining industry, particularly in the junior sector. In any event, we are well positioned not just to deliver but to keep on delivering," Bristow declared.
JH
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