* 2011 EBITDA $544 million, up 30 pct
* Total dividend 16.3 cents per share, up 208 percent
* Cash costs per ounce up 22 pct, similar increase seen for
2012
* Says power issues to continue, full back up power in place
by end of Q2
By Clara Ferreira-Marques
LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) – The prospect of power cuts,
disappointing growth prospects and soaring costs outweighed the
boost from a trebled 2011 dividend in African Barrick Gold
results on Thursday, leaving the company’s shares more
than 9 percent lower.
The Tanzania-focused company last month posted a 2 percent
dip in full-year production to 688,278 ounces, after outages at
its Buzwagi mine held back output in the final quarter. But with
power disruptions set to continue into 2012, it set its target
for the year on Thursday at a modest 675,000 to 725,000 ounces
— forecasting what could be another drop.
Costs, meanwhile, jumped 22 percent on the back of industry
wide inflation in, for example, the cost of materials, but also
a higher headcount and increased use of more expensive generator
power to keep mines working, with cash costs per ounce coming in
at $692. The miner forecast a similar rate of increase for 2012,
with cash costs of $790 to $860 per ounce.
The soaring cost of production, the darker side of rising
prices in recent years, is becoming an increasingly painful
issue for miners globally and particularly for those in newer
frontiers like West and East Africa, where activity has boomed
and talent and materials are in short supply.
Continued…
