Gold Fields Limited: Operating Profit of R2 Billion and net Earnings of R1.9 Billion in the Quarter Ended 31 December 2007
January 31 2008 - 1:47AM
PR Newswire (US)
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, January 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Gold Fields Limited (NYSE & JSE: GFI) today announced net
earnings for the December 2007 quarter of R1,938 million, compared
with restated net earnings of R429 million and R767 million for the
September 2007 and the December 2006 quarters respectively. In US
dollar terms net earnings for the December 2007 quarter were US$281
million, compared with restated earnings of US$60 million and
US$104 million for the September 2007 and the December 2006
quarters respectively. December 2007 quarter salient features: -
Attributable gold production, of 960,000 ounces 3 per cent lower
than the previous quarter; - Net earnings and normalised earnings
increase by 350 per cent and 48 per cent respectively; - Sale of
Essakane and Venezuelan assets successfully concluded releasing
R4,174 million (US$615 million) in value; - Draft three of the
South African royalty bill published during the quarter, if passed
in its present form, would result in a significantly higher royalty
than originally proposed at current gold prices. Statement by Ian
Cockerill, Chief Executive Officer of Gold Fields: "During the
December quarter we saw a welcome recovery at our international
operations. Regrettably the South African operations, in particular
Driefontein, were adversely affected by a number of safety related
work stoppages. We are fully committed to stop this through a
resolute focus on safe production, which is our highest priority.
Despite an overall decline of three per cent in production Gold
Fields saw a welcome four per cent improvement in its operating
margin, on the back of the improved gold price. This is a trend
which we hope to maintain and improve upon through continued focus
on productivity and costs. Cost control will be paramount in the
face of ongoing input cost pressures on all fronts precipitated by
inflation trends and the resource boom. Current power shortages in
South Africa will impact production in the March quarter and into
the foreseeable future. This quarter saw some good results on the
cost side of our business with total cash costs increasing by only
three per cent, despite the lower production and ongoing cost
pressures. Production at the Cerro Corona project is forecast to
commence by the middle of 2008 as previously announced. This
project will add more than 400,000 high margin ounces per year to
our production profile." The full results are available on the Gold
Fields website: http://www.goldfields.co.za/ DATASOURCE: Gold
Fields Limited CONTACT: Enquiries: Willie Jacobsz, Tel:
+27(0)11-644-2460, Mobile: +27(0)82-493-1377
Copyright