Randgold tips new record in quarter four
GOLD miner Randgold Resources said yesterday it was confident of delivering record gold production in the fourth quarter.
Profits surged to $122.9m (£76.7m) in the third quarter compared with $28.2m in the same period last year.
Chief executive Mark Bristow said the company is in “good shape” to meet the bottom end of its 740,000-760,000 ounce target for the year, although it is unlikely to reach the upper limit of the range.
Randgold produced 506,476 ounces of gold in the first nine months and tipped a record quarter four.
“We are going to produce a record quarter whatever we do,” said Bristow. “We could get up there with 240,000 ounces, but even if we do 220,000 it’s going to be a significant step and a very strong end to the year.”
The FTSE 100 miner produced about 440,000 ounces in 2010.
The company had originally hoped to keep its cash costs per ounce below $600 for the year, but so far they are around $705 an ounce.
“I would really like to break that $700 mark and if we get it right this quarter we should get down there,” added Bristow.
Analysts at Collins Stewart said in a note: “As we enter what is traditionally the gold buying season and strongest two quarters for gold we are likely to see the shares perform strongly,” it said.
Shares in Randgold rose 7.4 per cent yesterday to £72.35.