Saracen reports solid first half

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Saracen Mineral Holdings has reported an 89% increase in net profit for the six months to December 31, on the back of a 55% year-on-year increase in gold production.

Saracen on Tuesday reported a net profit of A$14.9-million, while revenues increased by 47% year-on-year to A$186.6-million and gold production reached 127 692 oz.

Saracen told shareholders that a number of portfolio optimisation initiatives were currently under way to capitalise on the recent production and drilling success. As part of this, A$16-million has been committed to new growth projects for the six months to June 30.

MD Raleigh Finlayson said the company continued to lay the foundation for strong growth in both cash flow and profitability from 2018.

“These results show that we are on track to achieve our production target of 300 000 oz/y in the upcoming June quarter. As part of this build-up, we are making substantial investments during this half in exploration and construction of new projects and infrastructure.

“At the same time, we are restructuring our asset base with the closure of the King of the Hills mine.”

Finlayson said these measures would result in higher costs in the short term, but would set the company up for strong financial performances from 2018 by optimising production sources and keeping costs tight while maximising mine lives.