Intelligent gold from a smart company
Once again, Gold Fields sets a tough standard for the gold quarterlies reporting season.
Author: Barry Sergeant
Posted: Friday , 05 Feb 2010
JOHANNESBURG -
Gold Fields, one of the top generators of genuine free cash flow among major gold miners, along with Barrick and Newmont, has once again set up a tough standard for the global industry fourth quarter 2009 quarterly reporting season, with further improvements in a good number of its key metrics. Gold Fields, which has a fiscal year ending on 30 June, improved its free cash flow (operating cash flow less capital expenditure) to USD 177m for calendar 2009, compared to a negative USD 151m for 2008, and a significantly negative USD 904m for calendar 2007.
What's clear from Gold Fields's latest detailed quarterly report is that costs remain an issue at the group, as seen across the global industry. Even so, the group has managed to optimize the balance between head- and tailwinds, moving higher up in the pecking order of standard setters.
Intelligent gold from a smart company
