Monday 25 February 2019 3:50 pm | Updated: Monday 03 June 2019 12:14 am

Centamin shares fall down mine shaft on poor annual results

London-listed gold miner Centamin dropped heavily today as production fell 13 per cent last year, squeezing its bottom line.

Shares had fallen by around 22 per cent by the early afternoon as the company showed disappointing results for the year ended December.

The company said it was struggling against challenging operations after it was hit by damage to a rig and and a patch of lower-grade ore.

“Our workforce responded to the operational challenges with dexterity and professionalism and, together with a new team in place, are confident in returning Sukari back to its full potential,” chairman Josef El-Raghy said.

Centamin runs the Egyptian Sukari Gold Mine, one of the largest in the world which started production ten years ago and has another 15 years ahead of it.

“We recognise the impact of these short-term challenges on the shareholder experience and would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and engagement,” El-Raghy said.

Revenue hit $603m (£461m), down 10.5 per cent, while profit before tax fell 26 per cent to $153m.

The company produced around 472,000 ounces of gold, down from 545,000 in 2017.

Centamin said it expects to produce around 490,000 to 520,000 ounces in 2019, considerably lower than in 2017.

Analysts at Peel Hunt said: “The only real difference in reported results versus consensus is a slightly higher dividend payment than forecast and thus lower cash at year end. However, we still think production guidance for 2019 is at the lower end of historical production in the 500,000 550,000 ounce range.”