By The Associated Press
Gold mining company Barrick Gold Corp. said on Thursday that its second-quarter profit rose 59 %, as it benefited from both rising production and rising gold prices.
The Toronto-based company earned $783 million, or 79 cents per share, for the quarter that ended June 30. That was up from $492 million, or 56 cents per share, during the same period last year.
Adjusted for one-time items, the company said it would have earned $759 million, or 77 cents per share. That beat the estimate of 71 cents per share forecast by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
Revenue rose 34.4 % to $2.64 billion, from $1.97 billion a year earlier.
Gold production rose 4.1 % to 1.94 million ounces, from 1.87 million ounces a year earlier. On average it collected $1,205 per ounce, up 29.4 % from $931 during the same period last year.
Gold production costs rose 3.7 % to $589 per ounce.
It said it expects full year production of 7.6 million to 8 million ounces.
The company said it will begin paying a quarterly dividend of 12 cents per share, after paying dividends semi-annually before. The new dividend will be paid Sept. 15 to shareholders of record on Aug. 31.
“With Barrick’s strong financial position and its positive outlook on the gold price, the company is able to continue to make high return investments in its project pipeline and at the same time increase its dividend,” Barrick said in a statement.
Barrick shares rose 51 cents to close Thursday at $40.54.
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