Headline: Barrick Gold Posts 36% Increase In 1st-Quarter Net
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NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Barrick Gold Corp. on Tuesday said
first-quarter earnings rose 36%, about as expected.
The Toronto-based gold-mining company said net income jumped to $75
million, or 20 cents a primary share, from $55 million, or 15 cents a
share, a year earlier.
The mean estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by First Call was for net
of 19 cents a share.
Barrick Gold (ABX) said revenue in the latest quarter was flat with a
year ago at $302 million.
The company said gold production of 769,282 ounces was up from
712,368 ounces a year earlier and that gold sales rose to 755,312 ounces
from 718,396 ounces. The average realized gold price was $400 an ounce
versus $420.
The cash operating cost per ounce fell to $154 from $196, and the
total cash cost per ounce fell to $176 from $222.
Barrick Gold said its hedge program generated $79 million in
additional revenue. It noted that it has 10.1 million ounces hedged at
an average price of $400 an ounce through 2000.
The company also said it expects a decline in cash costs to $170 this
year and $150 in 1999, when production is expected to rise to 3.5
million ounces. It said the Pierina mine in Peru is within budget and on
schedule to begin production by the end of the year.
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