Gold Fields Warns Earnings Hit By Production Slump

By Christian Moess Laursen

Gold Fields, one of the largest gold producers in the world, expects to report a tumble in earnings for the first half of the year as severe weather events hit production.

The South African miner said Thursday that it expects to book between 25% and 33% lower headline earnings-per-share for the half-year compared with the year-ago period, following a 20% tumble in gold production. It expects to report between $0.34 and $0.38 per share in headline earnings.

In previous updates, the miner flagged that worse-than-expected winter weather in Chile had set back the planned ramp-up at its Salares Norte project, while heavy rainfall in March had crippled output at its Gruyere site in Australia.

The declining production resulted in less gold being sold during the half-year, partially offset by the strength of gold prices.

Operational issues at its South Deep and St Ives mines also hampered the result.

However, the miner expects gold volumes to improve in the second half-year with the ramp-up of Salares Norte and production improvements at the other mines, it said.

Gold Fields reports full financial results on August 23.

Write to Christian Moess Laursen at christian.moess@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 08, 2024 09:54 ET (13:54 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.