Johannesburg - Gold Fields [JSE:GFI], the world’s
fourth-largest gold producer, reported an 18% fall in quarterly earnings on
Thursday, albeit above expectations, as output and the bullion price in South
African rand both fell.
The group stuck to its 2012 production target of 3.5 to 3.7
million ounces.
The group’s adjusted earnings per share fell 18% to 300
cents from 368 cents in the previous quarter, just above a Reuters poll of 7
analysts that had seen the number coming in at 273.7 cents.
The group’s output fell 6% to 827,000 ounces in the three
months to the end of March from the previous quarter.
Earnings were also constrained by the rand-denominated gold
price.
While the dollar gold price added 6.7% in the 3-month
period, the average rand gold price fell 4% to R421 000/kg because of the local
currency’s appreciation against the greenback.
The price of gold in rand impacts Gold Fields as roughly 50% of its output comes from South Africa.