Goldcorp sells gold stash, bullion, stock fall
12/10/2003 3:30:16 PM
By Nicole Mordant
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Goldcorp Inc. (CA:G) handed its investors a double-edged sword on Wednesday, announcing the reward of an unexpected dividend, but its stock and bullion tumbled on news that the payout was being funded from the sale of its gold arsenal.
A staunch supporter of bullion that argues that gold is money, Toronto-based Goldcorp has steadily built up a stash of nearly 270,000 ounces of bullion over the past two years.
But on Wednesday the gold miner said it had sold its entire cache, equal to the annual output of a mid-sized gold miner, to take advantage of stronger bullion prices.
Although, Goldcorp said it believed gold was not yet near its peak, analysts said the sale might send a signal to markets that the firm believed bullion had topped out and that it would not get a better price for its product later.
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