OceanaGold turns to Q1 profit as cash costs fall, production rises
Profit was $US$7.1m in the three months ended March 31, from a loss of $US3.9m a year earlier.
Hot Topic
EARNINGS
OceanaGold, the operator of the Macraes goldfield in central Otago, posted a first-quarter profit after producing more gold and benefitting from cash costs less than half the level of a year earlier.
Profit was $US$7.1 million in the three months ended March 31, from a loss of $US3.9 million a year earlier, the Melbourne-based company says in a statement. Sales rose to $US95.6 million from $US88.6 million.
The year-earlier loss reflected lower-than-expected production after maintenance shutdowns at Reefton and Macraes and adverse foreign exchange movements.
In the latest quarter the company produced 48,139 ounces of gold from Macraes, 12,447 ounces from Reefton and 6877 ounces from Didipio in the Philippines. The company also produced 3663 tonnes of copper in the first quarter.
Total material mined in the first quarter of 2013 was 18.4 million tonnes. Exploration expenditure was $US1.8 million, of which $US1.4 million was spent in New Zealand.
The company sold a total 55,585 ounces from New Zealand in the first quarter, up from 51,852 ounces a year earlier. The average price fell to $US1632 an ounce from $US1708.
The cash operating margin jumped to $US945 an ounce from $US582 an ounce, though was down from $US1068 an ounce in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Shares of Macraes last traded at $2.55 on the NZX and have tumbled 36 percent in the past six months.
(BusinessDesk)
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
OceanaGold turns to Q1 profit as cash costs fall, production rises
29023