Centerra Gold declares first dividend despite posting US$14.7M Q1 loss
TORONTO - Centerra Gold Inc. (TSX:CG) swung to a US$14.7-million loss in the first quarter as production problems sharply reduced output and sent costs soaring.
Still, the miner with operations in Kyrgyz Republic and Mongolia and interests in mines in Nevada, Turkey and Russia, declared its first quarterly dividend Tuesday — four cents per share payable June 15 to shareholders of record on May 31.
The first-quarter loss, which amounted to six cents per share, included US$19.2 million of abnormal mining costs and $4.6 million of mine standby costs related to the production halt at the company's signature Kumtor mine in the Kyrgyz republic. It also included a $1-million provision for the closure of the company's Reno exploration office
The quarter's loss compared with net earnings of US$136.6 million or 58 cents per share in the same 2011 period, Centerra said in a news release after markets closed.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of three cents per share, according to those surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
Revenue fell to US$133.8 million from US$250.2 million as consolidated gold production dropped to 72,555 ounces at a total cash cost of US$985 per ounce compared with 180,716 ounces at a total cash cost of $370 per ounce in the prior-year period.
Shares in Centerra tumbled in March after the gold miner cut its production guidance for the Kumtor mine due to ice movement in the pit that will delay access to a section of high grade ore.
The Toronto-headquartered company (TSX:CG) said in March that a preliminary engineering analysis had indicated production of 390,000 to 410,000 ounces of gold in 2012 at Kumtor.
That was down from an earlier estimate of between 575,000 and 625,000 ounces.
Centerra produced 585,000 ounces of gold last year at Kumtor, which accounts for the bulk of the company's global output.
Meanwhile, workers at the mine went on strike for more than a week earlier this year over a dispute over payments to a state social fund that is expected to cost the company US$4 million this year.
Still, the miner with operations in Kyrgyz Republic and Mongolia and interests in mines in Nevada, Turkey and Russia, declared its first quarterly dividend Tuesday — four cents per share payable June 15 to shareholders of record on May 31.
The first-quarter loss, which amounted to six cents per share, included US$19.2 million of abnormal mining costs and $4.6 million of mine standby costs related to the production halt at the company's signature Kumtor mine in the Kyrgyz republic. It also included a $1-million provision for the closure of the company's Reno exploration office
The quarter's loss compared with net earnings of US$136.6 million or 58 cents per share in the same 2011 period, Centerra said in a news release after markets closed.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of three cents per share, according to those surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
Revenue fell to US$133.8 million from US$250.2 million as consolidated gold production dropped to 72,555 ounces at a total cash cost of US$985 per ounce compared with 180,716 ounces at a total cash cost of $370 per ounce in the prior-year period.
Shares in Centerra tumbled in March after the gold miner cut its production guidance for the Kumtor mine due to ice movement in the pit that will delay access to a section of high grade ore.
The Toronto-headquartered company (TSX:CG) said in March that a preliminary engineering analysis had indicated production of 390,000 to 410,000 ounces of gold in 2012 at Kumtor.
That was down from an earlier estimate of between 575,000 and 625,000 ounces.
Centerra produced 585,000 ounces of gold last year at Kumtor, which accounts for the bulk of the company's global output.
Meanwhile, workers at the mine went on strike for more than a week earlier this year over a dispute over payments to a state social fund that is expected to cost the company US$4 million this year.
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