Second quarter profits soared for Iamgold Corporation as the higher price of the precious metal was enhanced by the increase in production of gold for the company. The operating profits for the second quarter more than tripled as compared to the previous year. This was helped by the fact that profit margins on gold shot up by 35% over that time frame.
Still the Toronto based Iamgold Corp has trimmed down its full year production guidance and increased its operating cost projections. The initial production guidance of between 950,000 to 1.05 million ounces of gold has been brought down to between 940,000 to 1 million ounces of gold. The company now said that its cash costs would be in the range of $620 to $650. This is part of its ongoing efforts to keep the costs of energy, labor and materials in check.
Steve Letwin the Chief Executive Officer and President of Iamgold Corp said that operationally the quarter was a challenging one. He added that all eyes were on containing costs throughout their operations and they were working on several initiatives to drive them down in the ensuing quarters.
Mr Letwin said that overall, their second quarter results demonstrate solid progress in executing their strategy to maximize the value of the mines they owned and operated. The sale of a couple of mines in Ghana earlier in the year also contributed to the positive second quarter.
The profit for the period ending June 30 was $69.7 million which was higher than the previous year profit of $19.3 million. The profit is an increase of 19 cents per share for the company. The production output of gold was also up and the revenues for the company went up by 75% reaching $345.7 million in the second quarter.