Russian-focused gold miner Petropavlovsk said its profit rose by 166 per cent in the first half of the year, as it benefited from higher gold prices and an increase in production.
“The recent gold price environment has assisted with cash generation and helped to de-risk the delivery of our key development assets,” Ian Ashby, non-executive chairman at the miner, said.
Shares in Petropavlovsk rose 2 per cent to 7.3p in morning trading in London. Year-to-date they are up 5 per cent, compared to a 14 per cent increase in the Philadelphia index of gold and silver miners.
The results are the first after the company’s former co-founder and chairman Peter Hambro was ousted in June following a battle with its largest shareholders over corporate governance.
Mr Hambro said on Tuesday the results “vindicate the vision that our board had for the company.”
Petropavlovsk is developing underground mining at its Pioneer and Malomir mines to get to higher grade gold and also building a pressure oxidation hub to treat refractory gold ores.
Petropavlovsk said profit rose to $24.5m compared to $9.2m in the same period last year. Revenues rose by 20 per cent to $304m as gold production increased by 19 per cent. The company said it benefited from a 5 per cent increase in the average realised gold price.
Petropavlovsk said it forecast production for the full year to be around 420,000 to 460,000 troy ounces.
Source: www.ft.com
