Newmont Corp., the world’s top gold producer, posted its biggest quarterly profit in five years as the price of bullion surged. Still, shares fell after sales and earnings missed analysts’ estimates.
The Denver-based company’s net income attributable to shareholders was $922 million in the third quarter, nearly six times more than the year-earlier period, according to its earnings report released Wednesday. The windfall puts Newmont on track to rake in $3.2 billion overall this year, according to analysts’ estimates, which would be the company’s strongest year on record.
Newmont is the first major gold producer to post results in an earning season that’s supposed to see bumper profits for bullion miners. The companies are cashing in on a soaring gold price that has hit repeated record highs this year while costs for mining the metal have eased.
The company is also reaping the rewards of its roughly $15 billion purchase of Newcrest Mining Ltd. last year, which added a suite of gold and copper mines to the portfolio and cemented its status as the world’s biggest producer of the precious metal. Newmont churned out 1.67 million ounces of gold in the quarter, well surpassing its biggest rival, Barrick Gold Corp., which said it produced 943,000 ounces in preliminary results posted last week.
Newmont fell as much as 7% in postmarket trading in New York after the company’s adjusted per-share earnings and sales fell short of estimates. The company will hold an earnings call Thursday to discuss results.
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