Newmont Corp (NEM.N) on Thursday fell short of Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit, as the world’s largest gold miner struggled with lower prices and increased costs.
Average realized gold prices fell 2.2% to $1,758 per ounce in the quarter from a year earlier, while the all-in-sustaining cost for gold, an industry metric that reflects total expenses associated with production, rose 15% to $1,215 per ounce.
On an adjusted basis, the company posted a net income of 44 cents per share for the October-December quarter, compared with the average analyst estimate of 46 cents.
Earlier this month, Australia’s Newcrest Mining Ltd (NCM.AX) rebuffed Newmont’s $16.9 billion takeover bid, but left the door open for a better offer.
A source familiar with management’s thinking previously told Reuters that Newmont was open to sweetening its offer.
Denver, Colorado-based Newmont said attributable gold production for the fourth quarter rose marginally to 1.63 million ounces from 1.62 million ounces in the previous year quarter.
Source: Reuters
