^O-O^ DIVIDENDS for DROOY comming!
Date: Fri Oct 22 1999 07:31
Speed (Optimism returns to the gold patch...) ID#29048:
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October 21, 1999
Dow Jones Newswires
Durban Deep Would Eye Dividends Once It Has $40M Cash
By TOM LOCKE
( This story was originally published earlier Thursday. )
DENVER -- Durban Roodepoort Deep Ltd. ( DROOY ) will look at paying
dividends to shareholders once it has three months worth of operating
costs in the bank, Chairman Roger Kebble told Dow Jones following a
company presentation Wednesday at the Mining Investment Forum '99 in
Denver. That would be about 250 million rand, or $40 million, that the
South African gold-mining company would need, he said, and it's possible
the company might have that much in the bank "by this time next year.
"Durban Deep would look at "35% of excess cash paid out in dividends,"
Kebble said, with the possibility of upping the ratio to 50% later on.
Talk of dividends is a far cry from where the company was last year,
when the gold price was lower. Durban Deep hedged at $275 an ounce "in
order to keep the company from going down the tubes," said Kebble at the
forum,
sponsored by the Denver Gold Group. After substantial capital
investments over the last two and a half years, Durban Deep is now in a
position to deliver strong cash flows, said Chief Executive Mike
Prinsloo in the presentation. Durban Deep also wants to further expand
outside South Africa. It is looking for potential acquisitions in
Australasia that would add 200,000 ounces of gold production per year,
Kebble told Dow Jones. The most likely target areas are in Indonesia,
certain parts of Australia, and Papua New Guinea, he said. By acquiring
production of another 200,000 ounces a year and increasing production at
its existing holdings in that region, the company would meet its target
of producing 500,000 ounces a year from Australasia, Kebble added.
-By Tom Locke; 303-293-9294 |
