GOLD NEWS

AngloGold returns to profit, expects higher output

The gold miner said it returned to profit in the first quarter of 2011 after buying back its hedge-book allowed it to reap the full benefit of record high gold prices. It says it expects higher output for the current 3-month period

Posted: Wednesday , 11 May 2011

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - 

Africa's biggest gold miner AngloGold Ashanti (ANGJ.J: Quote) reported a return to profit in the first quarter on Wednesday following its hedge-book buy back and said it expects higher output in the current three months.

AngloGold said adjusted headline earnings per share for the January-March quarter were 53 U.S. cents compared to a loss of 199 cents in the previous one after it had eliminated its hedge book last year to reap the full benefit of record gold prices.

"The business is generating strong, steady cash flow now that we're capturing this higher gold price," Chief Executive Officer Mark Cutifani said in a statement.

The company said it had produced 1.039 million ounces of gold in the quarter, down from 1.148 million ounces in the previous three months. Total cash costs were at at $706 per ounce, up from $672 in the previous quarter.

AngloGold said strong performances in its operations elsewhere in Africa and in the Americas helped it regain some of the 20,000 ounces of production lost due to unprecedented rainfall at its Sunrise Dam mine in Australia.

First-quarter uranium output stood at 365,000 pounds.

AngloGold said it expects output to rise slightly in the second quarter to 1.09 million ounces at total cash costs of $760 per ounce. (Reporting by Agnieszka Flak and Ed Stoddard; Editing by Marius Bosch)

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