Gold Fields Misses Production Target for 2023

Gold Fields, the South African gold miner, has reported a slight miss on its production target for 2023. While the company produced slightly less gold compared to the previous year, costs have risen as anticipated.

According to Gold Fields, its full-year gold-equivalent production for 2023 is expected to be 2.30 million ounces, marking a 4% decline from the 2.40 million ounces produced in 2022.

However, when excluding the stake Gold Fields sold in December in Asanko, the miner narrowly missed its target with attributable gold-equivalent production of 2.24 million ounces.

Gold Fields, being one of the largest gold producers in the world, had initially aimed for an output range of 2.25 million to 2.30 million ounces for the year.

The all-in costs, which reflect the complete cost of gold mining, are projected to be $1,512 per ounce in 2023. This represents a 15% increase from the previous year and falls within the guided range of $1,480 to $1,520 per ounce. The rise in costs can be attributed to lower gold sales, higher sustaining expenditure, and increased cost of sales.

Headline earnings per share for continuing operations are expected to range from $0.88 to $0.94, a decrease of 20% to 25% compared to 2022.