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JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 15 (Reuters) – South African company Gold Fields Ltd said Friday its annual profit fell 73 percent, dampened by a drop in bullion output from its South Deep operations.
Net earnings per share (EPS) fell to $ 0.07 per share for the year ended December 31, 2018, from $ 0.26 the previous year.
HEPS is the main profit measure used in South Africa to eliminate some non-recurring items.
Revenues fell $ 2.76 billion in 2017, from $ 2.76 billion in 2018 to $ 2.58 billion in 2018, due to lower ounces sold, the firm said.
Bullion production fell 6% to 2,036 million ounces in 2018 compared to 2.160 million ounces in 2017, due to a decline in production at South Deep, according to Gold Fields .
South Deep, the company's last badet in South Africa, has lost money over the last five years and Goldfields is striving to mechanize its operations despite the difficult geology located 3 km below the surface.
South Deep's production in 2018 was affected by a slow build-up after the first-quarter seasonal vacation, a restructuring of the workforce, security stops and a six-week strike, the miner said. # 39; gold.
"While South Deep has had a difficult year, the large-scale restructuring completed in late 2018 provides the mine with a solid foundation for a gradual increase in production," said Nick Holland, Chief Executive Officer, in a statement.
Gold Fields, which employs about 3,600 people in South Africa, announced last year that it would restructure its South Deep operations and cut about 1,100 jobs, nearly a third of the workforce. Work, to save money. In response, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) went on strike at the mine on November 2nd.
The company declared a dividend of 20 cents per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 40 cents ($ 0.0283) per share, up from 90 cents the previous year. (Report by Tanisha Heiberg, edited by Shreejay Sinha and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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