Barrick Gold logo is seen during the company's annual general meeting in Toronto on Tuesday, April 28, 2015. Barrick Gold Corp. reported a first-quarter profit of US$111 million, down from a profit of US$158 million in the same quarter last year.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Republished May 08, 2019 - 11:39 AM
Original Publication Date May 08, 2019 - 4:36 AM
TORONTO - Barrick Gold Corp. reported a lower profit for its first quarter since it completed a merger with Rangold Resources Ltd. and said it has made "rapid progress" on integrating two businesses.
"This quarter has seen a great start for our first year as the 'new and improved' Barrick," said CEO Mark Bristow in a statement.
"And I am confident that we are well on the way to achieving our strategic objective of becoming the world's most valued gold mining business."
The gold miner completed the Rangold Resources merger at the start of the year, and said integration and strategic initiatives are on track following it.
It also said its Nevada joint venture agreement is signed and implementation is expected by the end of the second quarter.
Barrick and Newmont Mining Corp. entered into an agreement to co-ordinate operations at their vast Nevada mining sites, which is expected to amount to hundreds of millions of dollars in savings annually in the first five years.
"The organizational structures are being finalized and we’re working together with Newmont to realize the synergies and cost reduction opportunities offered by the joint venture," said Bristow.
Quarter-to-quarter comparisons for its most recent earnings were skewed by the Rangold Resources merger, the company said.
Barrick, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported a first-quarter profit of US$111 million, down from a profit of $158 million in the same quarter last year. That amounted to six cents per share for the quarter, down from 14 cents per share a year earlier.
Revenue totalled $2.09 billion, up from $1.79 billion in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Barrick earned 11 cents per share in the first quarter of this year, down from an adjusted profit of 15 cents per share a year ago.
Analysts on average had expected a profit of nine cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.
Companies in this story: (TSX:ABX)
News from © The Canadian Press, 2019