Gold Fields reports 4% drop in gold output during H1

Gold Fields Limited produced 1,154,000 ounces (oz) of gold for the first half of 2023 – a 4 percent drop year-on-year (YoY) in production compared to 1,201,000oz in the same period of the previous year.

The gap in production is underpinned by the planned decline in production at Damang, according to the company.

Its all-in-costs for H1 2023 was US$1,398/oz – 3 percent higher than H1 2022 at US$1,352/oz. This was attributed to lower gold sold and higher cost of sales before amortisation and depreciation, partially offset by lower non-sustaining capital expenditure.

Meanwhile, the all-in-sustaining cost (AISC) for H1 2023 was US$1,215/oz as against US$1,148/oz recorded during H1 2022. This represents a YoY increase of 6 percent.

The development brought earnings of the company for the six months ended June 2023 to US$454million (which translates to US$0.51 per share), compared to US$498million (which is US$0.56 per share) gained for H1 2022. This represents a YoY decrease of 9 percent.

Against this background, the company in unaudited interim results issued to the press declared an interim dividend of 325 SA cents per share; being 35.1 percent of normalised earnings, which compared with the 2022 interim dividend of 300 SA cents per share. This represents an 8 percent increase YoY.

This follows the company’s dividend policy of paying out between 30 – 45 percent of normalised profit as dividends.

The company’s performance comes on the back of a difficult operating period – marked by “elevated mining cost inflation and strong competition for skills in our key mining jurisdictions presenting significant headwinds”.

About its operational activities, Gold Fields said it continued to build momentum in its strategy implementation by positively advancing several strategic initiatives in H1 2023.

“The Group announced two corporate actions that underline our strategic imperative of pursuing value-accretive deals to grow the value and quality of our portfolio: The proposed Tarkwa/Iduapriem JV in Ghana in March 2023 and the Windfall JV with Osisko Mining in Canada, in May 2023.

“We have also accelerated a number of internally-focused initiatives which will further enhance the implementation of our strategy, by unlocking the full potential of our people and assets and driving improved business value. During H1 2023, the focus was on two of these initiatives: Rolling out our culture journey, termed the “Gold Fields Way”, and Asset Optimisation,” it was stated.

Local production

Gold Fields Ghana contributed some 204,000oz of gold, including 45 percent of Asanko, during Q2 2023 at an AIC of US$1,227/oz. For H1 2023, Ghana produced 397, 000oz of gold at AIC of US$1,210/oz.