- Revenue plunged by 16%
- Cash and cash equivalents plunged by 78%
- Gold output plunged to 16k ounces
Harare- Gold mining giant, Caledonia Mining Corporation has recorded a 16% revenue decrease to US$29.4 million during the first quarter to full year 2023 from US$35.1 during the comparative first quarter period of 2022 due to reduced gold output at Blanket Mine.
In a statement accompanying the trading update, the Group’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mark Learmonth said revenue was further dampened by production costs due to high electricity charges and the slower than anticipated restart of the Bilboes Oxide mine.
“Lower revenues reflect lower gold production at Blanket,” Learmonth said.
“The disappointing contribution was due to lower revenues and higher operating costs at Blanket and the costs at the Bilboes oxide mine,” added Learmonth.
16,141 ounces of gold were produced, 18,515 ounces in the first quarter of 2022 with Blanket Mine contributing 16,036 ounces while 105 ounces were produced at the Bilboes oxide mine.
On-mine cost per ounce increased by almost US$500 per ounce from US$698 in Q1 2022 to US$1,196 per ounce. Learmonth said approximately US$300 of the increase was due to the Bilboes oxides mining activities where production only commenced in the last week of the quarter, but operating costs were incurred for much of the quarter.
The on-mine cost per ounce at Blanket increased due to lower gold production (this means that fixed costs were spread across fewer ounces) and higher than anticipated electricity costs.
All-in-sustaining costs of US$1,412 per ounce from US$848 per ounce in the prior quarter in 2022. The increase was due to the higher on-mine cost and advisory fees payable on the completion of the Bilboes acquisition.
Adjusted loss per share of 29.1 cents was endured from a profit of 62.5 cents in the comparative period.
“Reduced EBITDA for the Quarter was exacerbated by higher administrative expenses, a higher interest charge and an increase in the effective tax rate.”
As a result of reduced output, net cash outflow from operating activities significantly plunged to US$0.9 million from US$10.2 million in 2022.
Cash and cash equivalents more than halved to US$3.2 million after plunging by 78% to S$14.4 million.
Learmonth added that the net cash position at March 31, 2023 was negatively impacted by a build-up in undelivered gold to a value of approximately $2.8 million at the end of the Quarter pending the implementation of a new gold sale mechanism in early April.
However, despite that, Learmonth remains optimistic of hitting an annual target of between 75,000 and 80,000 ounces of gold at Blanket Mine.
The Group completed the acquisition of Bilboes Mine in the first quarter.
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