What about Gold Fields? What are they thinking?? The idiots.
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Gold Fields (GOLD) closed all bar 200,000 ounces of its forward obligations while retaining some options positions.
South Africa's Gold Fields Ltd, the world's second biggest gold producer, said it had bought back the bulk of its gold hedges and expected bullion prices to rise.
Gold Fields Limited Repurchases Its Hedges
PR Newswire - October 15, 1999 09:44
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Gold Fields Limited (Nasdaq: GOLD) today announced that it had completed the repurchase of its gold hedge position.
Chris Thompson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gold Fields, said: "Having looked at the fundamentals of the current gold market and the implications of the Ashanti situation, it seems inevitable to us that higher, if not much higher, gold prices are possible. Accordingly it seemed prudent to retrieve our hedge positions."
All forward obligations, save for 200 000 ounces of forward sales attributable to Gold Fields Ghana Limited (71% owned), have been closed out. These forwards have been left in place to cover potential debt covenant obligations required by lenders to the Tarkwa project.
Gold Fields continues to hold approximately 660 000 ounces of Rand-gold call options at an average strike price of R2 171 per ounce. These mature in September 2001. In addition 50 000 ounces of put options, acquired at a strike price of US$270 per ounce, have been maintained. These expire in November 2000.
At a gold price of US$313 per ounce and a Rand/Dollar exchange rate of R6.10, the outstanding Rand-gold call options have a mark to market value of US$8.6 million. This compares to the net cost of some US$3.0 million incurred to repurchase the hedge position.
"At higher gold prices the restrictive impact on our balance sheet and the drag on earnings from a continued hedge position would limit our ability to make acquisitions and develop new deposits," said Thompson.
Prior to commencing the hedge repurchase, Gold Fields' position was 1.8 million ounces, comprised of a mix of forward sales and call option obligations.
Gold Fields Limited is the second largest gold producer in the world with four million ounces of gold production per annum, 145 million ounces of mineral resources and almost 73 million ounces of mineral reserves. Gold Fields trades on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange under the symbol GFI and on Nasdaq under the symbol GOLD. The company is also listed on the London, Paris and Swiss Stock Exchanges and trades on the Brussels Stock Exchange through an International Depositary Receipt programme.
SOURCE Gold Fields Limited
/CONTACT: South Africa: Willie Jacobsz of Gold Fields Limited, (+27 11) 644-2460, or fax, (+27 11) 484-0639, investors@goldfields.co.za; or North America: Cheryl A. Martin, 303-796-8683, or fax, 303-796-8293, camartin@gfexpl.com, for Gold Fields Limited/
/Web site:
goldfields.co.za |
