Randgold shares soar as investors rush to gold and its profits treble
Randgold Resources saw a 6.6 per cent surge yesterday as spooked investors rushed to gold-focused stocks as a safe-haven asset.
The bounce came as profits at the West African-focused miner more than trebled in the second quarter on strong gold prices, higher production and a resurgence in sales from the Ivory Coast.
Profits jumped to a record $128.4m (£78.9m) from $36.4m in the same quarter last year, as production almost doubled to 184,711 ounces due to contributions from its two new Tongon and Gounkoto mines, the firm said.
“We’re confident that the positive trends on production, profit and costs will be sustained in the third and fourth quarters and consequently the company will comfortably be within its guidance for the year,” said chief executive Mark Bristow (pictured) .
The FTSE 100 miner expects to produce between 750,000 and 790,000 ounces of gold this year, up 70 to 80 per cent on 2010.
Randgold was the best performing stock on the FTSE 100 market as Europe’s sovereign-debt woes spur demand for precious metals as a haven.