Centamin 2021 Gold Production, Costs Meet Guidance — Update

By Jaime Llinares Taboada

Centamin PLC on Wednesday reported 2021 gold production and costs in line with previous guidance, and reaffirmed the outlook for 2022.
The company said that its Sukari gold mine in Egypt yielded 415,370 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost, or AISC, of $1,211 an ounce last year.

Centamin had previously forecast output of 400,000-430,000 ounces and AISC of $1,150-$1,250 an ounce.
Revenue fell 12% to $733.3 million, as production decreased 8% and sales dropped 12%.
“It was a good, solid fourth quarter. It very nicely rounded up the year, allowing us to bring in the guidance midranges both on production and costs. That’s the first time in three years that the company has actually met its guidance targets,” Chief Executive Martin Horgan told Dow Jones Newswires.
In addition, the FTSE 250 miner reaffirmed its outlook for 2022 as provided in December. This included production of 430,000-460,000 gold ounces, AISC of $1,275-$1,425 an ounce, and capital expenditure of $215 million.
Regarding cost inflation, Mr. Horgan said that this is a sector-wide issue rather than a “Centamin issue,” and that fuel price volatility is easing.
“If you look at the inflationary pressures within our cost base, fuel is clearly a key one. We saw a pretty big increase in the second half of last year in the price we pay in Egypt, but we believe that it has stabilized,” he said.
Write to Jaime Llinares Taboada at jaime.llinares@wsj.com; @JaimeLlinaresT