By Ankit Kumar and Divya Rajagopal
(Reuters) -Newmont Corp posted first-quarter profit on Thursday that beat Wall Street expectations, as the world’s largest gold miner benefited from higher prices of the metal.
Average prices of gold, considered to be a safe-haven asset, rose 7.8% and peaked at more than $2,000 per ounce during the reported quarter on fears over the stability of the financial system after a banking crisis and a potential recession.
Newmont’s average realized gold prices was $1,906 per ounce, higher than $1,892 per ounce a year earlier.
Gold’s all-in sustaining costs (AISC), a key industry metric that reflects total expenses associated with production, rose to $1,376 per ounce from $1,156 per ounce.
Denver, Colorado-based Newmont, however, said attributable gold production for the first quarter fell to 1.27 million ounces from 1.34 million ounces a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, the company posted net income of 40 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31, down from 69 cents per share a year earlier but beating analysts’ average estimate of 33 cents per share, according to Refinitiv data.
Newmont is in the middle of a $19.5 billion merger with Australian gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd. Newcrest has opened its books for due diligence.
Tom Palmer, CEO Newmont in an analyst call on Thursday said that as the company continues its due diligence of Newcrest it will remain disciplined in terms of its capital allocation.
The due diligence period will run for four weeks that started in April. Palmer indicated that once this process ends, and if the companies sign a binding agreement, the merger could close by early 2024.
One of the due diligences will include on the safety culture in Newcrest mines, the company said.
(Reporting by Ankit Kumar,Divya Rajagopal in Toronto; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, Mark Potter and David Gregorio)
