Operating Profit of R1.7 Billion and Normalised Earnings of R400 Million in the Quarter Ended 30 September 2007
October 25 2007 - 3:09AM
PR Newswire (US)
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, October 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Gold Fields Limited (NYSE, JSE & DIFX: GFI) today announced
earnings for the September 2007 quarter of R429 million compared
with R528 million in the June 2007 quarter and R698 million for the
September quarter of 2006. In US dollar terms net earnings for the
September 2007 quarter were US$60 million compared with US$74
million in the June 2007 quarter and US$98 million for the
September quarter of 2006. September 2007 quarter salient features:
- Attributable gold production maintained at over 1 million ounces;
- Total cash costs increased 7 per cent from R92,273 per kilogram
(US$405 per ounce) to R99,227 per kilogram (US$435 per ounce) due
to higher labour costs at the South African operations and lower
production at St Ives and Tarkwa; - Post quarter end an agreement
was reached to sell our stake in Essakane for a consideration of
US$200 million and our Venezuelan assets for an indicative amount
of US$532 million; - Cerro Corona on track for production of
concentrate during the March 2008 quarter. Statement by Ian
Cockerill, Chief Executive Officer of Gold Fields: "Gold Fields
delivered a steady quarter, with attributable gold production again
above one million ounces. Production at the South African
operations increased from 685,000 ounces to 689,000 ounces while
attributable production at the international operations decreased
from 330,000 ounces to 312,000 ounces. Despite known cost pressures
due to wage settlements in South Africa and ongoing pressures on
input costs throughout the Group, unit costs rose at an
unacceptably high 7 per cent quarter on quarter. This was also
influenced by the decline in production from both Tarkwa and St.
Ives but improved performance from these two mines over the next
few quarters should see a reversal in this trend. After the close
of the quarter we announced that an agreement had been reached to
sell our 60 per cent stake in the Essakane project to Orezone
Resources Inc. for US$200 million, as well as an agreement for the
sale of our assets in Venezuela to Rusoro Mining Ltd. for an
indicative consideration of some US$532 million. This consideration
is made up of mainly cash and shares in Rusoro Mining Ltd., the
value of which is based on the prevailing share price in Rusoro
Mining Ltd. at the time of the announcement. These disposals were
made as part of our ongoing strategic evaluation of our capital
asset portfolio aimed at maximising its underlying value and do not
diminish our commitment to international growth. The proceeds from
these sales will be used to create value for shareholders. A range
of options are under consideration, including, inter alia, the
reduction of debt and the funding of our extensive capital
programme." The full results are available on the Gold Fields
website: http://www.goldfields.co.za/ DATASOURCE: Gold Fields
Limited CONTACT: Enquiries: Nerina Bodasing, Tel +27-11-644-2630,
Fax +27-11-484-0639, ; North America, Willie Jacobsz, Tel
+27-11-644-2460, Fax +27-11-484-0639,
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