Egypt unrest and worries over funding slash Centamin shares
CENTAMIN was yesterday the second biggest faller on the FTSE 250 as funding worries spooked investors.
The mining company said it needed to make a gold shipment from Egypt shortly to meet its working capital needs.
The growing political tension in Egypt has also unsettled shareholders.
Centamin said yesterday it was preparing to resume exports from Sukari, which had been halted after an October court judgement questioning its right to operate its only mine.
It has now lodged an appeal against the ruling, and has decided to resume exports. Operations at Sukari had continued since the judgement.
Yesterday Centamin’s share price dropped 6.34 per cent.
Numis analysts said: “While there is plenty of cash on the balance sheet, Centamin may have to move more cash in-country to meet those commitments, unless an export is made soon.
“Separately, trouble continued in Egypt over the weekend following last week’s decision by President Morsi to place all of his decisions beyond legal challenge. The protests in Egypt do not look like they will come to a halt any day soon so expect stocks with exposure to the area to underperform.”