| Thu 2 May 2002, 0:00 | | Gold Fields Limited Reports A Record Quarter, Surp |
|
Earnings and 1 Million Ounces of Production
Gold Fields Limited
Live Conference Call Audio Webcast on 2 May at 17.00 Johannesburg time
(11:00 a.m., North American EDT)
See www.goldfields.co.za for more details
Improving safety trends
Earnings increased 64 per cent from R640 million (US$67 million) to R1,049
million (US$98 million)
Operating profit increased 52 per cent to a record R1,614 million (US$149
million)
Attributable gold production increase 10 per cent to 1,081,000 ounces
Total cash costs reduced to US$160 per ounce
Acquisition of Abosso (Damang Mine) in Ghana completed 24 January 2002
Johannesburg, 2 May 2002 - Gold Fields Limited (JSE - GFI and Nasdaq - GOLD)
is pleased to report that, for the second successive quarter, it has
generated record net earnings. For the March quarter, net earnings were
R1,049 million, or 224 cents per share, 64 per cent higher than the R640
million, or 139 cents per share, earned in the December 2001 quarter.
Translated to US Dollars, the net earnings for the March quarter were US$98
million, or US$0.21 per share, compared to US$67 million, or US$0.15 per
share, for the previous quarter.
For the nine-month period ended March 2002, earnings increased 157 per cent
to R1,893, or 413 cents per share, from R738 million, or 163 cents per
share, for the same period ended March 2001. Translated to US Dollars, this
equates to net earnings for the nine-month period ended March 2002 of US$189
million compared to net earnings of US$99 million for the same nine-month
period in 2001.
The record earnings arose from an increase in production due to the full
quarter's inclusion of the Australian operations, St. Ives and Agnew, the
inclusion of the Ghanaian Damang mine for the months of February and March,
improved output from the Free State and Driefontein Divisions, and from
higher gold prices achieved in both Rand and Dollar terms.
The Rand gold price received increased from R91,627 per kilogram to R107,732
per kilogram, due mostly to the weakening of the average Rand/US Dollar
exchange rate from R10.12 in the December quarter to R11.53 in the current
quarter. In addition, the average US Dollar gold price increased from $279
to $291 per ounce, quarter on quarter.
The cash balance at the end of March 2002 was R1,729 (US$152 million),
nearly double that of the previous quarter, despite a R423 million dividend
payment in February 2002. Debt, relating to the acquisition of the Agnew,
St. Ives and Damang operations, was R2,423 million, or US$213 million.
Chris Thompson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gold Fields, said:
"This was the second consecutive record quarter for Gold Fields. While the
results were boosted by improvements in both the Rand and Dollar gold
prices, we have also seen a pleasing improvement in production resulting
from the inclusion of Australia for a full quarter and Damang for two
months, as well as effective cost control across the Group."
During the March quarter, ore milled increased to 9.91 million tons from
8.35 million tons, with per-ton yields decreasing from 3.8 to 3.6 grams due
to the inclusion of Australia and Damang at an average of 3.3 and 2.4 grams
per ton, respectively. Cash costs for the Group decreased from US$169 per
ounce to US$160 per ounce.
Attributable gold production for the March quarter increased from 984,000
ounces to 1,081,000 ounces, an increase of 10 per cent. Gold Fields'
Australian operations contributed 166,000 ounces to the Group's attributable
production, compared to 68,000 ounces in the previous quarter, as this only
included production for the month of December. Two months' production from
Damang added approximately 40,000 attributable ounces. At the South African
operations, production decreased by 29,000 ounces due to a decrease at Kloof
of 32,000 ounces, with improvements in production from the Driefontein and
Free State Divisions.
South African Operations
Driefontein's production was stable at 326,000 ounces, with a slightly
higher yield of 6.1 grams per ton versus last quarter's 6.0 grams per ton.
Total cash costs improved in Dollar terms from US$159 per ounce to US$141
per ounce, the lowest in the Group.
At Kloof, the 11 per cent decrease in production from 290,000 ounces to
258,000 ounces was mainly due to a decrease in underground tonnage from
861,000 to 723,000 tons, but at a 6 per cent higher yield at 10.8 grams per
ton. This decrease in production was due to a slow start up after the
Christmas/New Year break. In the short term, it is anticipated that
production will continue at current levels for several quarters prior to
improving. Total cash costs for the quarter improved slightly from US$168
per ounce to US$166 per ounce.
In the Free State, production at Beatrix increased from 167,000 ounces to
171,000 ounces due to an improvement in underground yields. Cash costs
improved from US$168 per ounce to US$146 per ounce.
St. Helena's production decreased from 32,000 ounces to 28,000 ounces due to
a decrease in milling tonnage and a 5 per cent lower yield at 5.8 grams per
ton. The lower production resulted in an increase in cash costs from US$227
per ounce to US$234 per ounce. However, despite the lower volume, the
higher gold price received resulted in higher net earnings of R20 million
(US$2 million) compared to R16 million (US$2 million) the previous quarter.
International Operations
In Ghana, total production was up 27 per cent from 145,000 ounces to 185,000
ounces as a result of two months' production of 56,000 ounces from Damang.
This was partially offset by lower production from Tarkwa due to planned
lower yields. Total cash costs increased from US$174 per ounce to US$181
per ounce due to the inclusion of the Damang production at a higher cost
than Tarkwa.
The Australian operations provided their first full quarter of operations
and contributed R181 million (US$17 million) to net earnings, although R126
million (US$11 million) of this was from the marked to market valuation of
United States Dollar/Australian Dollar currency financial instruments,
realised gains on these instruments and an unrealised exchange gain on the
foreign debt. Gold production of 166,000 ounces is in line with
projections, with total cash costs amounting to US$163 per ounce.
The feasibility study continues on the Suhanko project in Finland with
completion expected during the third quarter this year. An additional 22,000
meters of in-fill, step out and condemnation drilling was completed during
the quarter. Gold Fields and Outokumpu are jointly examining smelting
options at Outokumpu's Harjavalta facility in conjunction with the Suhanko
study. Gold Fields and Outokumpu have been jointly funding this program
since January 20, 2002 at their respective 51/49 per cent interest.
Ian Cockerill, President and Chief Operating Officer designate, said:
"Operationally we have had a good quarter. In particular we are satisfied
with the consolidation that we are seeing at the Driefontein, Ghana and Free
State Divisions. The Australia Division settled down well. During the next
few quarters our attention will be focussed on the Kloof Division to improve
output to more acceptable levels. "
Gold Fields Limited produces approximately 4.5 million ounces of gold
annually from operations in South Africa, Ghana and Australia. The company
has proven and probable reserves of approximately 84.5 million ounces and
resources of approximately 150.7 million ounces. It also has a 51% stake in
an advanced stage exploration project, the Arctic Platinum Partnership, in
Finland. Gold Fields trades on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (GFI) as well
as on the NASDAQ (GOLD), London, Paris, Brussels and Swiss stock exchanges.
SA RAND US DOLLARS
SALIENT FEATURES
Quarter Quarter
Dec March March Dec
2001 2002 2002 2001
30,59 33,620 kg Gold oz 1,081 984
2 production* (000)
55,01 59,138 R/kg Total cash $/oz 160 169
3 costs
8,354 9,910 000 Tons milled 000 9,910 8,354
91,62 107,73 R/kg Revenue $/oz 291 279
7 2
215 221 R/ton Operating costs $/ton 19 21
1,064 1,614 Rm Operating $m 149 110
profit
640 1,049 Rm Net earnings $m 98 67
139 224 SA US 21 15
c.p.s. c.p.s.
640 1,049 Rm Headline $m 98 67
earnings
139 224 SA US 21 15
c.p.s. c.p.s.
* Attributable - all companies wholly owned except Ghana
(71.1%)
FULL RESULTS AVAILABLE AT
WWW.GOLDFIELDS.CO.ZA
WWW.GOLD-FIELDS.COM
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