Gold miner Newmont's profit disappoints as pandemic hits output

Newmont Corp posted quarterly profit below expectations on Thursday, as coronavirus restrictions and a sale of a Canadian asset dented production for the world's largest gold miner.

Although massive stimulus measures and pandemic-led uncertainties have boosted prices of gold, COVID-19 curbs and increased costs related to ramping up sites have affected Newmont's bottomline.

Average realized price for gold jumped 10% to $1,751 per ounce in the quarter, as production fell 1.4% to 1.46 million ounces due to the sale of its Red Lake mine in Canada and virus-related disruptions at its Cerro Negro mine in Argentina.

The Cerro Negro site now continues to ramp up after being put on care and maintenance last year, Newmont said. Argentina tightened movement restrictions this month as the country struggles with a second wave of the novel coronavirus.

Newmont, which also mines copper, silver, zinc and lead, said it expects output to increase toward the second half of the year and maintained its prior gold production outlook of 6.5 million ounces.

Adjusted profit rose to $594 million, or 74 cents per share, for the three months to March 31, while analysts on average expected 77 cents per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Revenue jumped 11% to $2.87 billion for the quarter, but missed a consensus estimate of $3.21 billion due to lower sales volumes.