African Barrick Gold reins in costs

London - African Barrick Gold reported a fall in overall expenses for the eighth successive quarter and said it now expects full-year costs at the lower end of its target range.

The miner, which reported a 17% jump in third-quarter core profit, also said it was on track to exceed planned cost savings of $185m this year.

The stock was among the top gainers on the FTSE-250 Midcap Index, the shares rising as much as 4.8% in early trading.

Many gold and silver miners were forced to shelve new projects and slash costs last year after prices of the precious metals fell to their lowest in a decade. Gold fell 28% and silver plunged 36% in 2013.

For African Barrick, all-in sustaining costs (AISC) - a widely used measure that includes production and exploration expenses - fell to $1 098 per ounce sold in the three months ended September 30, 14% lower than a year earlier.

The company said it now anticipates full-year AISC at around $1 100 per ounce sold. It had earlier forecast AISC at $1 100 - $1 175 per ounce sold.

"Beyond this (2014) we continue to anticipate a further reduction in our AISC as we see the benefits of further business improvement initiatives being implemented throughout the business with particular focus on mining and development efficiencies," the company said on Thursday.

Core earnings, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda), rose to $75.8m in the third quarter from $64.8m a year earlier.

Revenue rose to $240.9m from $220m.

African Barrick, which operates primarily in Tanzania, said gold production rose 16% to 190 986 ounces, with gold sales rising 11%.

The FTSE 250 company also reiterated its full-year production forecast of more than 700 000 ounces of gold.

Shares in the company were trading at 199.14 pence at 09:41.