Newcrest records drop in profit

AUSTRALIAN gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd has posted a 12 per cent drop in full-year statutory profit to US$332 million (K1028.14m).
Managing director and chief executive officer Sandeep Biswas said Newcrest’s financial performance in the 2016 financial year was solid, with all sites contributing positive free cash flow and the group achieving a 27 per cent reduction in net debt.
“The resulting improvement in Newcrest’s target financial metric, together with Newcrest’s profitability and market conditions, has given the board confidence to announce a final dividend of US7.5 cents (K23) per share,” he said.
“Newcrest continues to focus on safety, operational discipline and cash flow generation, and has identified a range of opportunities to improve its performance in FY17 and pursue profitable growth.”
Gold production increased 1 per cent to 2.4 million ounces. Newcrest was within its guidance ranges despite challenges at some sites.
Copper revenue was $US403 million (K1248.01m) – 35 per cent lower than in the previous period, driven by a 24 per cent reduction in the average copper price.
Operating costs declined by 11 per cent to US$1.9 billion (K5.9b) compared to the prior period.
The decrease in operating costs includes a foreign exchange benefit of about US$186 million (K576m) as a result of the weakening of the company’s key operating currencies against the US dollar. Newcrest also switched its reporting currency from Australian dollars to US dollars this financial year.